Individual patronageAmong leading figures close to the monarchy, a certain synthesis occasionally occurred between official and personal taste. When the Duke of Orléans became regent, he appointed his favourite painter, Antoine Coypel , First Painter to the King. Philibert Orry, Controller General of Finances and Administrator of Royal Residences, commissioned Natoire to execute a series of paintings for his Château de La Chapelle-Godefroy , near Nogent-sur-Seine.
In the provinces, by choosing to employ innovative artists, wealthy art lovers were sometimes ahead of official tendencies. In Bordeaux, the lawyer Saige asked Pierre Lacour to decorate his mansion, built by Victor Louis , while the future member of the National Convention, Boyer-Fonfrède, engaged Vincent. In Beaune, the Baron de Joursanvault discovered and patronized young artists like Prud'hon and Jean-Claude Naigeon.