Pierre-Antoine Quillard, attrib. (1703-1733)

Oil on canvas, c. 1720

Inv. 149

This oval-shaped painting portrays one of the main Portuguese sovereigns of the Modern Age whose reign lasted almost the entire first half of the 18th century (1706-1750). Growing proximity to the main European artistic centres of Paris and Rome was a dominant feature of this period, leading to the importation of various works of art and commissions from foreign artists.

One of the painters who travelled to Portugal at this time was Frenchman Pierre-Antoine Quillard, who obtained the rank of royal painter and to whom is attributed the present portrait, in which the sovereign appears quite young, in armour and with a full of hair beside his royal crown. In addition to spreading the French style of court portraiture, Quillard, who died at a young age in 1733, also left some religious compositions and various engravings intended to illustrate books published at the time. A follower of Watteau, Quillard also produced some works in the Fête galante style (Casa Cadaval collection), a genre he tried to introduce among the Portuguese without enduring success.