Portrait de Madame Albert de Bormes en vendangeuse

Dated around 1800 and attributed to Jean-Baptiste van Loo — though the date raises attribution questions, since he died in 1745 — this portrait of Madame Albert de Bormes in the costume of a grape-harvester is an example of the fashionable genre of déguisement portraits, in which sitters were depicted in rustic or theatrical costume as an expression of aristocratic playfulness. The 'en vendangeuse' convention — showing a woman as a grape-harvester — was particularly popular in French portraiture of the mid- to late eighteenth century, associating elegance with natural productivity and seasonal abundance. The Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence holds this work alongside other portraits connected to Provençal aristocratic culture, suggesting the sitter had regional connections. The discrepancy in dates may indicate that this is a work by Jean-Baptiste's son Louis-Michel van Loo or a studio variant, requiring further scholarly investigation.

The rural costume — basket, vine leaves, perhaps a simple dress — provides unusual pictorial material compared to the formal court dress of most van Loo portraits, and the handling responds with a slightly more animated, colouristic approach. The flesh tones retain the smooth quality of the van Loo workshop while the accessories are rendered with decorative warmth.