[LOT VISIBLE chez l'EXPERT]. Felix Anton BESOLDT (died 1774) - Lot 3

[LOT VISIBLE chez l'EXPERT]. Felix Anton BESOLDT (died 1774) Presumed portrait of a palatine dignitary in an embroidered red suit Canvas Height : 88 cm Width: 76 cm Annotated on the back (probably a retranscription of the original canvas) 'A. Besoldt pinx... A 1 746'. Expert: Cabinet TURQUIN The date 1746 places our portrait in the period when the painter was working as a court painter in Mannheim to the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore, who came to power in 1742. In 1746, Mannheim was a brilliant artistic center: the Palatinate court developed an intense musical and pictorial pictorial activity. Besold, as official painter, immortalized the figures of this circle. The representational dress and and the absence of military or heraldic insignia suggest a high palatine dignitary, perhaps a member of the House of Wittelsbach or a close associate of the Elector.