Nicolas de Largillière, French, 1656-1746
Title: Portrait of Philippe Roettiers (c.1640-1718)
Date: 1680-1685
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
81 x 64 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1962
Object Number: NGI.1729
DescriptionLargillière was one of the leading portraitists during the reign of Louis XIV. He knew and painted several members of the Roettiers family. This is Philippe (II) Roettiers, medallist, the third and youngest son of Philippe Roettiers, a goldsmith and medallist working in his native Antwerp. In 1661 the three sons, John, Joseph and Philippe, were invited to England by Charles II to work at the English mint. According to Horace Walpole, their father had lent money to Charles during his exile in the Low Countries and the king in turn had promised employment for his three sons. Philippe (II) was officially connected with the English mint as an engraver from c.1670 to 1684. In 1684 he was nominated engraver-general of the mint of the King of Spain in the Low Countries (which is referred to in the inscription on the portrait), and in 1686 he took the oath as engraver of the Antwerp mint. in this portrait Philippe appears to be holding the ‘Liberty of Conscience’ medal, which shows the bust of Charles II.
March 2016
March 2016
ProvenancePurchased, Captain William G. Marshall, Dublin, 1962
Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964
Label TextLargillière was a leading portraitist during the reign of Louis XIV. This painting depicts the Flemish medallist Philippe (II) Roettiers. In the 1660s, Charles II invited Roettiers and his brothers to take up positions at the English mint. Roettiers remained employed at the English court until 1684. He then became engraver to the King of Spain in the Low Countries. Here, bewigged and elegantly dressed, he holds the 'Liberty of Conscience' medal. This medal was designed by Roettiers and issued by Charles II in 1672. It features a classical bust of the king in the guise of a Roman Emperor.