This pastel portrait by Maurice Quentin de la Tour is the potential star of the auction taking place at Drouot held by Kalck & Associés.
Thought originally to depict the early 18th century French sculptor René Fremin, it has now been identified as Louis Antoine Mirleau de Neuville (1701-80).
He was a wealthy Fermier General or tax farmer (a private individual assigned to collect taxes under the ancien régime) and was one of the 65 holders of this position who contributed to an edition of La Fontaine’s Contes et Nouvelles en vers.