MIGLIARA, Giovanni
(b. 1785, Alessandria, d. 1837, Milano)

Louis XIV and Mademoiselle de la Vallière in the Chaillot Convent

1821
Oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm
Private collection

Migliara is best known for his Venetian architectural capricci painted in the manner of the eighteenth century with more imagination than topographic accuracy. Attracted by the Gothic period, he was also interested in monasteries, churches and chapels, animated with figures in costumes from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance.

A mistress of Louis XIV, who became a Carmelite nun, Mademoiselle de la Vallière has long fascinated historians and novelists by her picaresque life.