Portrait of Françoise-Marie-Jeanne Picquefeu de Longpré (ca 1727-1789), as Thalia, Muse of Comedy

Painted in 1765, this allegorical portrait presents Françoise-Marie-Jeanne Picquefeu de Longpré in the guise of Thalia, the Muse of Comedy — a popular Rococo convention that allowed painters and sitters to engage in playful mythological role-play while demonstrating cultural literacy. The practice of costume portraiture, in which sitters were depicted as classical figures, allegories, or theatrical characters, flourished in mid-eighteenth-century France as an expression of Enlightenment ideas about the relationship between self-cultivation and classical learning. Van Loo, trained in Rome and steeped in academic tradition, was well equipped to handle the allegorical dimension, while his Rococo sensibility ensured the work remained playful rather than pedantically learned. The Horvitz Collection, a major private holding of French old master drawings and paintings, is an appropriate home for a work that combines the wit and elegance that define the best of mid-century French portraiture.

The allegorical format allows van Loo to vary his handling: the theatrical prop or mask associated with Thalia provides a compositional accent, while the loose, informal costume — in contrast to court dress — permits a lighter treatment of fabric. The colour is warm and animated, and the sitter's expression carries a knowing quality in keeping with the Comedy Muse's character.