File:Attributed to Henri Gascar - Portrait of the Grand Dauphin as Narcissus.jpg

2. Description of the miniature

In our opinion, this gouache is a "portrait historié", i.e. a portrait representing an individual in the guise of a historical, biblical or mythological figure.

A young man, his torso clad in a kind of armour, lies alongside a pool in which he is reflected. Leaning on the grass, he rests his head on his left arm while his right hand is slightly raised, as if to greet the image he is contemplating.

The narcissus flower on the far right gives us the key to this representation and allows us to identify the mythological model as Narcissus, the young hunter of great beauty who fell in love with his own image.

The technique is particularly impressive since the artist manages to render not only the detail of the model's anatomy under the tight-fitting armour, but also the reflection of his deformed and slightly faded body in the water. The particular technique, which relies heavily on the use of wide verticals on a lighter background, evokes the art of an engraver and may suggest that the artist had experience as an engraver. As an additional refinement, the edge of the cuirass, which was most likely painted using lapis powder, is very lightly enhanced with gold.

While geometric rocks and a grove of trees, occupy the background on the right, a bluish horizon opens up on the left of the composition. Beyond a river, we discover an island on which two shepherds are wandering accompanied by animals, and beyond another grove, the outlines of a town.

3. A portrait of the Grand Dauphin?

An inscription on the back of the copper plate identified the model of this portrait historié as Philippe d'Orléans, the future Regent. While we would agree that by its magnificence this gouache evokes a princely character, it was probably executed around 1679-1680, during Henri Gascar's stay in Paris. At that time, Philippe d'Orléans was no more than 6 years old, and the portraits we have of him represent him with dark hair; these two elements seem to contradict this identification.

A more likely proposal would be to see in this portrait Louis of France (1661 - 1711), also called the Grand Dauphin. His features represented in our gouache correspond quite closely to the description of him given by the memorialist Saint-Simon: "Monseigneur was rather tall than short, very fat, but without being too cramped, looking very tall and noble, without anything rough [...]. He was of a very beautiful blond, his face was very red all over, and very full, but without any physiognomy; he had the most beautiful legs in the world; his feet were singularly small and skinny.”

The choice of Narcissus for a portrait historié may seem surprising at first. Louis de France married Marie-Anne of Bavaria on 7 March 1680; the choice of his wife was a matter of state. If we assume that this portrait represents Louis de France before his wedding, we can sketch out an explanation for the choice of this allegorical representation. Like Narcissus, Louis de France became exceptionally beautiful and attracted many suitors. Narcissus contemplating his own image thus becomes the representation of an introspective quest of the young man, seeking, through the contemplation of beauty, the profound meaning of his existence.

It is interesting to note the presence of an iris at the bottom left of the gouache as its shape looks like a metaphor for the fleur de lys, the heraldic emblem of the throne of France, to which our young Dauphin is entitled."