Portrait of Marguerite de Sève

Nicolas de Largillière's Portrait of Marguerite de Sève, painted in 1729 and paired with the portrait of Barthélemy-Jean-Claude Pupil at the Timken Museum of Art, represents the artist at his late-career best. Largillière was the supreme portraitist of the French bourgeoisie and provincial aristocracy, able to convey social standing, character, and fashion simultaneously. Marguerite de Sève appears as a cultivated woman of means, her costume and bearing reflecting the refined Rococo taste of the French provinces in the late 1720s. The pair of portraits — husband and wife — is a rare survival of an aristocratic commission complete, giving special historical and human value to both works.

Largillière renders Madame de Sève with the same combination of richly described textiles and warmly modeled face that characterizes his best work. The lace at her neckline is painted with extraordinary delicacy. A warm neutral ground sets off the cool whites and silver of her dress effectively.