Jean Petitot (1607-91)
Portrait of a lady, called Anne Temple Lady Lyttleton (d.1718) c.1660
Enamel | 4.1 x 3.5 cm (sight) | RCIN 421422
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Jean Petitot was the most accomplished enamel painter of the seventeenth century. This is a characteristic example of his early work, dating from Petitot's extended spell working at the court of Charles I during the late 1630s and 1640s, a period during which he is thought to have produced some of the best work of his long career. During his time in London, Petitot perfected the practice of painting portrait miniatures in the medium of enamel which had been pioneered by Henri Toutin in Paris. He was forced to return to France at the onset of the Civil War and enjoyed long-lasting success in Paris as Court Painter in Enamel to Louis XIV from the mid-1640s until 1685. This is a standard product of Petitot's early career, displaying the stippled brushwork and rich colouring characteristic of his technique at this point. None of the miniatures by Petitot currently in the Royal Collection, even those painted in England, are known to have been in the collection during the seventeenth century; most were acquired by George IV between 1799 and 1827, many of them inset into snuff-boxes from which they were later removed.
Provenance
First recorded in the Royal Collection during the reign of Queen Victoria
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Enamel
Measurements
4.1 x 3.5 cm (sight)
4.3 x 3.6 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)