Lot 158: Attributed to Alexis Loir (Paris 1712-1785)

Attributed to Alexis Loir (Paris 1712-1785)
Portrait of a magistrate
dated '1742[?]' (centre right)
pastel, laid down on canvas
26½ x 22¼ in. (67.3 x 56.5 cm.)

A sculptor as well as a pastellist, Loir came from a family of artists and became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1746, although he had already exhibited regularly at the Salon. He worked primarily in Paris but also spent time in Rome in 1739, England in 1753 and Russia between 1763 and 1769.

The present portrait has strong stylistic similarities with Loir's work, especially in features such as the dark-grey background and the strongly focused light on the sitter's face. The treatment of the sitter's fleshy, blue-veined hands and lushly-textured velvet robe has parallels to that of Loir's Portrait of Clément Belle (Musée du Louvre; N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London, 2006, p. 356).