Pick of the week

I intend to report in a future column on sales from the second autumn TEFAF New York fair, which closes today at the Park Avenue Armory, and I would be surprised if the highlight of the Old Master paintings offered by Tomasso Brothers of London and Leeds were not among them. The 26¼in by 20¾in portrait (right) by Nicolas Mignard (1606–68) is of Scipion du Roure (1628–96), a soldier who fought in Italy and became a considerable Provençal landowner. Both artist and sitter came from interesting families. Mignard was the elder brother of Pierre, who had a successful career at Louis XIV’S Court, rivalling the great Le Brun in artistic influence. At one time, it was rather implausibly suggested that their father was actually an Englishman named More.

Nicolas travelled in Italy and lived at Avignon until summoned to Court by Mazarin in 1660. The city was still a Papal enclave, thus the inscription ‘Avenione 1658’ on the reverse of the canvas. The extended du Roure family, among whom Scipion was a common name, fought on both sides during the French religious wars and, later, a çi-devant comte du Roure was a leading Revolutionary.

The portrait remained in the sitter’s family until February, when it was acquired by the Tomasso Brothers at a Paris auction.