"This lavish portrait, painted circa 1680 by Henri Gascars, depicts the Countess of Montdidier who was a member of the French noble house of Montdidier (later Dammartin and Roucy). The countess wears a white dress and a Romanesque corset. Roman attire was popular in portraits around this time, influenced by the theatre and masquerade, but also because it elevated a sitter’s importance, and provided a sense of timelessness in a world where fashions changed quickly.

The refined treatment of the drapery and the elegance of gesture with which the sitter holds the mirror is entirely French and typically of Henri Gascar’s oeuvre. His continental style is shown to advantage in what the poet, painter and historian Bainbrigg Buckeridge termed his ability to paint “Embroidery, fine Cloaths, lac’d Drapery, and a great Variety of Trumpery Ornament”. Gascars’ paintings also contain rich colouring and exude a sense of theatricality and he used many accessories, here the sitter holds a bejewelled mirror. His playful style was immediately popular with the British and was a well-received break from the more sombre formality of the mainly Dutch court painters. It is no wonder why the artist had such a great influence on British art in the later 17th century - he painted almost all the leading women of the court. Even Peter Lely, who had dominated British art for quite some time, felt threatened by his success.

This portrait is a stunning example of Gascars’ work for the French elite during the 1670’s. The whole work is an overt display of artistic bravado, proclaiming an artist’s mastery in portraiture. In addition to the attire, the face and hands are delicately rendered and the flower garland draped around her body is exquisite and could be the work of a specialist flower painter working in collaboration. Examples of Gascar’s work can be seen in many British country houses and collections notably at Goodwood House (and its French connection).

An example of prices that the artist’s work achieves can be seen by the sale price of 42,750 euros (66,578 USD) for a portrait of Hortense Mancini, Duchesse de Mazarin (47x33.7 inches) sold at Sotheby's Paris 25th June 2008 [Lot 41].

Henri Gascars (also spelt Gascar or Gasard) was a French portrait painter, the son of Pierre Gascars, a Parisian painter and sculptor. He travelled and worked widely in Europe and was influenced by some of the best artists. He studied in Rome from 1659, moved to Paris in 1667 but was probably in Amsterdam later the same year, working on the portrait of the diarist Nicolas Delafond (Hermitage, St Petersburg). The lively and intimate mood of this half-figure portrait was later superseded by more formal full-length portraiture. From 1674 to 1677 Gascar worked at the English court having arrived at the invitation of Charles II's mistress, Louise de Keroualle, later Duchess of Portsmouth. It was also in England that Gascar really made his name and founded his considerable fortune, his flamboyant style well suiting the superficialities of the post-Restoration court. While retaining his distinctive French elegance he easily imitated the style of the Principal Painter to the King, Peter Lely, and created a number of very fine portraits including that of James, Duke of York, Charles II, Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland, and her daughter, Barbara Fitzroy, Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, Frances Stuart, Duchess of Richmond, George Fitzroy, Duke of Northumberland, Nell Gwyn, Edmund Verney, and Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. His sitters, who included many of the lovers of Charles II, are often depicted as mythological deities, set against a marble column, drapery and landscape.

Shortly after Gascars returned to Paris and being accepted as an agrée (associate) of the Paris Academy in 1678, followed by reçu (full member) in 1680. He travelled to Modena in 1681, Venice in 1686 and Poland in 1691, and finally settled and enjoyed further success back in Rome, where he died in 1701.