Henri Gascar ( – 1 Jan 1701) was a French painter who achieved artistic success in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the reign of Charles II. He painted many leading ladies at court, including several of the King's mistresses, before returning to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He subsequently relocated to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he died in 1701.

Life and work

Gascar was born in

, the son of Pierre Gascar, a minor painter and sculptor. Gascar came to England about 1674, probably at the behest of Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, Charles II's favourite mistress. Gascar (or Gascard, as he seems to have spelt his name at first) was already known as a skillful portrait-painter; among the portraits already painted by him was that of Nicolas de Lafond, author of the "Gazette of Holland", painted in 1667, and engraved by Peter Lombart. The patronage of the Duchess of Portsmouth ensured Gascar a rapid success in England. His flamboyant style, contrasting with the stolid English approach, seemed to suit the frivolity of the time and he painted many of the ladies of Charles II's court. His lack of attention to detail in the likeness he made up for by the sumptuous draperies and tawdry adornments around the subject. For a short time he became fashionable, and is said to have amassed a fortune of over £10,000. Among the portraits painted by him during his time in England were Charles II (engraved by Peter Vanderbank); Louise, Duchess of Portsmouth (twice - once engraved by Étienne Baudet); Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland (née Villiers), and her daughter, Barbara Fitzroy;

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; Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond;

George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland Lieutenant-General George FitzRoy, Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC (28December 166528June 1716) was the third and youngest illegitimate son of King Charles II of England ('Charles the Black') by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine (al ...

;

Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (also spelled Gwynn, Gwynne; 2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687) was an English people, English stage actress and celebrity figure of the Stuart Restoration, Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances ...

; Sophia Bulkeley (engraved by Robert Dunkarton); Edmund Verney; and Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke. It is stated that the last-named portrait was done surreptitiously for Louise, Duchess of Portsmouth. A portrait by Gascar of James II as Duke of York was in that king's collection. Some time before 1680 he was shrewd enough to see that his success was merely due to a fashionable craze, and he retired to Paris before this had entirely ceased. Another possibility is that he left due to increasing

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

and anti-French sentiment in England after the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

and

Exclusion crisis The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion Bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, ...

. On his return to Paris, Gascar was elected a member of the Académie Royale there on 26 October 1680. He subsequently went to

, where he enjoyed a high reputation, and died there on 1 January 1701, aged 66. About 1698 he had painted a portrait of Joseph Ferdinand, the young son of Maximilian II, which was engraved at Munich by Zimmermann. A number of

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

engravings done from portraits by Gascar, but bearing no engraver's name, have been attributed to Gascar himself. There is no evidence that he really engraved them, but the inscriptions do indicate the work of a non-Englishman. They are interesting as being among the earliest specimens of mezzotint engraving done in England.

References

External links

Biography of Henri Gascar
(National Maritime Museum)
James, Duke of York, 1633-1701
(National Maritime Museum)
Portraits by Henri Gascar
(National Portrait Gallery, London) ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Gascar, Henri 1630s births 1701 deaths 17th-century French painters French male painters French portrait painters French emigrants Immigrants to the Kingdom of England Painters from Paris Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture