Template:POTD/2020-01-12

Picture of the day
François-Henri d'Harcourt
François-Henri d'Harcourt (12 January 1726 – 22 July 1802) was a French general, administrator and peer of the realm. Living in turbulent times, he emigrated to Britain during the French Revolution and became a representative of Louis XVIII to the British government.

This picture is a half-length oil-on-canvas portrait, painted around 1769 by French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard, depicting d'Harcourt looking over his left shoulder. One of Fragonard's Fantastical Portraits, it was sold in 1971 for £340,000 (equivalent to £4,091,000 in 2016), when the d'Harcourt family collection was dispersed. It was sold again in 2013 for £17,106,500, setting a world-record price for the artist at auction.Painting credit: Jean-Honoré Fragonard