Antoine de Favray

Antoine Favray (born on September 8, 1706 in Bagnolet and died on February 9, 1798 in Malta), is a French painter, commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He is known for his portraits of personalities of the Ottoman Empire, as well as paintings of Grand Masters in Malta.

His parents are Claude Favray and Marie Millet his wife, he is sponsored by Antoine de Fontaine, concierge of the Duke of Quintin. This may help him in his career. We know nothing of his youth.

Antoine Favray accompanies in Rome in 1738, as private pupil, Jean-Francois de Troy, who has just been appointed director of the Academy of France. In 1739, he became an official resident of the Academy as successor to Jean-Charles Frontier. He carried out various reproductive works such as The Fire of the Village of Raphael, a fresco about 10,60 m in width, which is exhibited in the gallery of Apollo du Louvre in Paris in 1741. It also makes copies of Masters such as Guerchin and Titian.

During his first stay in Malta, he painted several paintings depicting Maltese ladies and also commissions for churches and religious establishments on the island. The great master Manoel Pinto da Fonseca (1741-1773) made him realize his portrait where Favray succeeded in restoring the will of the great master to appear as a monarch more than a religious order. Favray obtains this result, thanks to the position of the grand master, who designates with his hand a closed crown, a sign of royalty, and by using in abundance the purple color.

He later made official portraits of his two successors, Francisco Ximenes de Texada (1773-1775) and Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc (1775-1797). The first portrait focuses on the religious side of Ximenes, that of Rohan is very little “official”: he is in motion to ascend his throne, the pages behind him do not pay him attention and discuss among themselves. Through the window is the people of Malta, and an orange tree, which recalls that the oranges of Malta are appreciated by all the courts of Europe.

Favray accompanies the crew of the Ottoman Crown, returning to Constantinople. This ship was captured by the Maltese race, and bought by the King of France to offer it to the Sultan as a token of friendship. He arrives at Constantinople on January 19, 1762, is well received by Vergennes, ambassador of France, makes his portrait as well as that of his wife, painted many interior scenes, as well as landscapes. It seems to have been perfectly integrated with the French community.

In 1762 Antoine de Favray moved to Constantinople like several other European artist of his time did too, where he spent nine years. During his stay in Constantinople he was painting numerous genre scenes of the everyday life in Turkey under Louis XVI and he also depicted locals and foreign dignitaries. Two portraits are especially notable, one is of the French ambassador Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes who was living in Constantinople between 1754 to 1768 and the second, that the painter painted two years later, of the ambassador’s wife. The painting depicts the native-born Annette Duvivier de Testa who became the ambassador’s wife. She had previously been married to Testa, a merchand and member of a prominent Genoese family who settled in Pera for several centuries. Favray portrayed both the ambassador and ambassador’s wife in a rich Turkish dress.

He remained eight years before returning to Malta, where he arrived on September 29, 1771.