File:Attributed to Pierre Gobert - Françoise-Marie de Bourbon.jpg

"The princess is seen from the front, half-length, dressed in a white blouse, a blue dress with gold edging and a large pink shawl on the shoulders, the tip of which is brought over the left arm, concealing it . With her head tilted slightly, she looks at the viewer with assurance and confidence. The hairstyle, arranged in a high bun à la Fontanges, the curls of which are held in place by a large ruby inlaid ??tiara; it ends with long locks falling on the shoulder and the nape of the neck, while on the front two loops frame the forehead. The oblong face with wide blue eyes, long nose and full rosy cheeks combined with porcelain skin indicate the young age of the princess. Her open throat is elegantly adorned with the fine lace of her blouse. She holds a bouquet of orange blossoms and daffodils in her right hand, her right arm bent at the waist, her sleeve rolled up above the elbow held in place by a gold bracelet set with sapphires and pearls. A large piece of gilt and engraved metal, set with large precious stones, surrounds her waist. Far from the usual court attire, the pink, white and blue draperies here constitute a fancy costume, which places the princess in an antique and poetic composition. The choice of fabric colors amplifies the beauty and grace of the young woman. The pink of the shawl finds a delicate echo in the pink of her cheeks, while the blue of her dress accentuates the blue of her eyes. As for the green decor in the background, it expresses harmony with nature and evokes the spring freshness of the young woman. The composition breaks with the tradition of baroque ceremonial portraits dear to Louis XIV, solemn figures with heavy theatrical draperies, brocade dresses, velvet and innumerable jewels, signs of external wealth. Thus, far from conventional representations, here the light and fluid fabrics in acid colors associated with a natural environment highlight the model and the person portrayed, placing status or social hierarchy in the background.

Pierre Gobert (1662-1744) Son of Jean Gobert, sculptor to the King, grandson of Jean Gobert the eldest, carpenter sculptor, brother of Jean Gobert, known as the "ordinary painter to the King" Pierre Gobert was born in Paris or Fontainebleau in 1662. Perhaps trained in contact of Claude Lefèvre, he would have worked from 1679 for the court of Bavaria, by carrying out the portrait of Marie-Anne, future Dauphine of France. Renewing her confidence in the artist, she commissioned a portrait of her son the Duke of Burgundy from Versailles in 1682. Received at the Academy of Painting on September 24, 1701, with the portraits of Corneille van Clève and Bon Boullogne, Pierre Gobert exhibited fifteen portraits at the Salon of 1704, and demonstrated his privileged access to the court: among these portraits were that of the Duchess of Maine and the little Duke of Brittany, the future Louis XV. Thanks to this reputation, and no doubt thanks to the intervention of Elisabeth-Charlotte, Gobert was approached by the Court of Lorraine in 1707, in order to paint the portrait of the Dukes of Lorraine, Elisabeth-Charlotte of Orléans and the four princesses. Back in Paris, on the strength of this prestigious introduction, which he took advantage of by bearing the title of “ordinary painter to the Duke of Lorraine”, Gobert then worked for the Condés and the Contis, and for the Prince-Elector Max Emmanuel of Bavaria. In 1737, the painter shone for the last time by presenting at the Salon one of his most ambitious portraits, that of the family of the Duke of Valentinois (Monaco, prince's palace). By the choice of his somewhat fixed attitudes, by the affected and graceful arrangement of the fingers of his female models, by the use of historical travesties, by the depersonalized and flattering type of his resolutely placid faces, Gobert had managed to create thanks to his relentless and recognized work, a unique style which contrasted with the works of Largillierre and Rigaud, his contemporaries." [1]