(Bayeux 1713–1780)
Portrait of Chevalier Michel de Baudre of the regiment “Carabiniers de Monsieur le Comte de Provence”,
on the reverse traces of a signature and dated: J… R… 1773,
oil on canvas, 127.6 x 96.2 cm, framed

We are grateful to Jean-Jacques Petit for confirming the authenticity of the present painting.

The present portrait of an officer from one of the most prestigious cavalry regiments of the Ancien Régime, was rediscovered only a short while ago and is an interesting addition to the oeuvre of the French portraitist Joachim Rupalley. The artist received his training from Jean Restout. Contemporaries highly appreciated the elegant and noble way in which the artist described his sitters. As Rupalley left Paris when he had completed his education, only a few works by his hand are known to date. He painted the likenesses of Paul d’Albert de Luynes and of Pierre-Jules-César de Rochechouart, bishops of Bayeux, both of which have survived in the Musée des Beaux Arts de Bayeux. The present painting is closely related to the artist’s self-portrait of 1765, which appeared on the Paris art market in 2013 (Cornette de Saint Cyr, 25th October 2013, lot 16, € 20,000).

An officer of one of the most prominent cavalry regiments of France, Michel de Baudre was married to Catherine Sophie de Sorrhouet. Here he wears the ceremonial uniform of a captain.