French Art – Reign Of Louis XIV. – The Academy And Painters

In the first we get the theory of Art. In the second that theory is shown in practice. The life of French Art in the 15th and 16th centuries had centred first in Touraine, and later in Paris. Now for over a hundred years we shall find Versailles the focus of activity. For Art now becomes official and aristocratic, and gathers round the actual person of the King. It is no longer towards the Louvre that we must look for the history of Art. At Versailles we find it written large, in marble and bronze, in painting and sculpture. In Le Brun’s superb decorations—in the heavy magnificence of Mansart’s Classic buildings—in the splendour of Le Nôtre’s gardens and parks, fountains and terraces.

The founding of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture did not, however, emanate from the King. It is intimately bound up with the question of the Corporations and Trade Guilds of the Middle Ages. Into this question it is obviously impossible to go at length here. It will be enough to say that the members of the Corporation of Master painters and sculptors of St. Luke, founded in the 13th century, had come in course of time to hinder the free exercise of Art among those who did not belong to the maîtrise or freedom of the Guild. At several different periods its regulations and scope had been altered. François I., who apparently bore it little goodwill, considerably curtailed its powers. The restrictions he introduced in 1539 were destined to relieve artists from the heavy burdens imposed on them by the maîtrise. At the end of the 16th century, however, fresh powers were granted to the guilds of all ” arts et mestiers,” which were now introduced in towns which had hitherto escaped from them. And in Henri IV.’s endeavour to restore French industries, and organize Art and trade, he established a strict system of monopolies, and protection against all foreign productions.

From time to time in the beginning of the 17th century, the Corporation of Master painters and sculptors tried yet further to extend the powers and privileges they already possessed. And in 1647 they made a fresh attempt to apply the regulations of 1618 ; reducing the number of painters of the King’s and Queen’s households ; and for-bidding independent artists to sell pictures, keep shops, work for churches or for private persons, under a penalty of 500 livres.

The independent painters at once seized on this as a pretext for revolt against the maîtrise ; saying that their position would be rendered impossible. That it was a pretext, to some extent, is certain. For such painters as Poussin, Vouet, Philippe de Champaigne, Bourdon, the sculptor Sarrazin, and many others, had exercised their art freely, without belonging to the maîtrise.

But the whole position of artists had changed. ” Sous “l’influence de l’antiquité et de la Renaissance l’Art avait ” constitué sa théorie et même sa philosophie, il se considérait ” comme appelé h exprimer un idéal ; cette conception donnait ” à ceux qui l’exerçaient une haute idée de leur valeur.” 1 These artists considered it beneath the dignity of the heirs of Phidias and Apelles to belong to a corporation, ” debased ” by practising a trade and by the mediocrity of many of its members, who were indeed mere journeymen. They therefore seized eagerly upon the opportunity given them by the fresh regulations of the maîtrise. And replied by taking the initiative in creating a body to counteract its power and tyranny.

The notion of an Academy was in the air. The ” Académie Française ” was already in being. And Le Brun was talking with Testelin about an Academy of Painting and Sculpture, while Jacques Sarrazin, Juste d’Egmont; and Corneille the elder were actually taking the initiative in the matter. For it is these three to whom the project and the first movement towards its fulfilment are due. They, with M. de Charmois, prepared the petition, ” tendante à ” supplier sa Majesté de délivrer ceux qui exerçaient les arts ” et qui étaient continuellement occupes au service de sa ” Majesté de l’oppression d’une maîtrise incompatible avec ” la liberté de l’académie, leur donnant ce titre, parce qu’en ” effet c’était le moyen de les distinguer d’avec le corps de ” maîtres “.

Thus we see that the original movement came from the artists themselves. We must in justice bear in mind that, as I have said, Louis XIV. did not create the Academy. It was founded outside the initiative of the Government, “whose ” almost unique role was to consecrate the already established ” fact “. The first statutes were more a declaration of principle, of an ideal, than a working organization. And there is no doubt that until 1654 the Academy worked feebly, and was in constant peril of dissolution—now endeavouring in despair to bring about a junction with the maîtrise—then in still greater despair, trying to rid itself of this very incongruous second body. It was not until that year (1654) that the Academy obtained its full constitution. A royal decree separated it once for all from the maîtrise ; and modified its original constitution.

It had a Protector, and a Vice-Protector. Its chief was called the Director. He had for assistants, or substitutes if necessary, four Rectors, chosen among the Anciens (or founders), and taking precedence of them. The Anciens changed their name to Professors, and their number was fixed at twelve. Below them came the Académistes. Finally a Chancellor was chosen from the rectors, professors, and councillors ; and a treasurer, secretary, and ushers were instituted. The King further allowed thirty of the members of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture to enjoy the same privileges as the ” Forty ” of the Académie Française.’ The Academy was granted the use of the gallery of the ” collège royal de l’université ” for its sittings and work. It was allowed 1000 livres a year for teaching. Finally the monopoly of teaching was conceded to it ; and its Rectors were constituted judges of all differences relative to the practice of art, even of payments for works of painting and sculpture.

But there was the reverse of the medal. From hence-forth the Academy, now entering on its triumphant career, became more and more dependent on the powers that be. The King held it through Colbert. Colbert held it through Le Brun. And even so, royal intervention did not produce unity. The maîtrise still existed, with a large number of members. Mignard, Dufresnoy, Anguier and others, still upheld it, only coming over to the Academy some years later. And a third group, the King’s Painters, and the guests of the Louvre, maintained their independence between the two bodies. It was not until 1661, when at Mazarin’s death the King became King in deed as well as in word, that the Academy triumphed. And in Art, as in government, the dream of Louis XIV. and Colbert was accomplished, in ” the concentration of disciplined force “. For this history of the Academy cannot be separated from the history of the time. The same ideal is manifested in both—the same progressive march towards unification-order—the same tendency to absorb everything into the monarchy.

Thus the Academy, founded in 1648 on principles of equality and confraternity, with the object of rendering artists independent, placed them in fact, by the statutes of 1654-5, under a hierarchy, under governmental and administrative direction. And that body, founded in the name of liberty, was destined to become for those who opposed it, as tyrannical a corporation as the old maitrise, until in its turn it was driven out by the fiery besom of the Revolution ; and liberty for Art was once more claimed by David.

PAINTERS

PERRIER, FRANÇOIS, dit LE BOURGUIGNON (1590-1656).–While quite young, Perrier painted pictures in the Chartreux of Lyons. And so determined was he to get to Italy and study there, that he engaged himself as guide to a blind man on his way to Rome. In Rome he copied the best masters for a picture dealer. And was counselled and helped by Lanfranc. In 1630 he returned to France, painting more pictures for the Chartreux at Lyons. He then went to Macon, where his two brothers, a painter and a sculptor, were established. His reputation began here, and he soon went on to Paris, where he painted pictures from Vouet’s drawings.

About 1635 he returned to Italy for a sojourn of ten years ; settling finally in Paris in 1645. Here his greatest work was the Gallery of the Hotel de la Vrillière, built by Mansard. This magnificent dwelling was bought in 1713 by the Comte de Toulouse, who took its name. It is now the Banque de France. And some of the original paintings still exist. François Perrier was one of the twelve Anciens who founded the Academy of Painting and Sculpture, opened on 1st February, 1648. He was the first master of Le Brun.

Examples—Louvre :

Acis and Galatea.

Orpheus before Pluto.

AEneas and the Harpies.

Galerie dorée, Hotel de la Banque.

LE NAIN, the Brothers ANTOINE, LOUIS, MATTHIEU (b. Laon, beginning of 17th century ; d. 1648, 1648, 1667).—All that is known of the early history of these three brothers is that they were taught their art at Laon by a ” foreign painter”. That they came to Paris and lived in the same house.

Antoine and Louis worked together, Antoine excelling in miniatures and cabinet portraits, Louis painting bust portraits. Matthieu, the youngest, was appointed ” peintre de la Ville Paris, et lieutenant de la compagnie bourgeoise du sieur Duri,” in August, 1633. The three brothers became members of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture in February, 1648. Their letters of admission were signed by Le Brun. And Louis and Antoine died in May the same year, within three days of each other. Matthieu, ” peintre de Bambochades,” was made peintre de l’Académie Royale in 1662. He died in 1667.

It is virtually impossible to distinguish between the work of these three brothers. The attribution of special pictures to one or another is chiefly guess-work. But they occupy a most honourable and remarkable place in the history of French Art, by their originality and care for truth. Among the pictures of the period, those by the brothers Le Nain stand out with striking distinctness. Some seem to suggest of the work of the most modern artists. The remarkable picture- in the Louvre, ” Retour de la Fenaison,” foreshadows of the work of J. F. Millet. ” The serious and ” sad expression of the figures they introduce even in rustic ” scenes of the Cabaret or the Guard room, the type of heads, ” a greyish-green tone, vivid and numerous whites—thrown ” up by draperies generally of a light, clear red—in fine, a ” sort of reflection of the Spanish School—these are the ” characteristic features of their style.”

They painted many easel pictures of various dimensions. Large canvases for the churches of Notre Daine in Paris and in Laon. And the vaulting of the Chapel of the Virgin, St. Germain des Près.

Examples in England :

Group of portraits, National Gallery.

The Musicians, Dulwich Gallery.

The Players, Buckingham Palace.

Children and Piper, Stafford House.

Interior with figures, Corporation Art Galleries, Glasgow.

Portrait of a young gentleman, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

The Song, Lord Aldenham.

Louvre :

La Creche, 539.

La Forge, 540.

Le Retour de la Fenaison, 542.

Portraits dans un intérieur, 543.

Réunion de Famille, 543A.

Henri II. duc de Montmorency, 545.

Card players, 546.

Le reniement de St. Pierre, 547.

Repos des Paysans (Salle La Caze), 548.

Procession dans l’Intérieur d’une Eglise, 544.

This last is attributed to the Le Nains. It is not wholly like their work. But it is a fine picture, with superb colour in magnificent vestments.

POUSSIN, NICHOLAS (b. Les Andelys, Normandy, 1594 ; d. Rome, 1665).—While quite a youth, Poussin’s sketches attracted the attention of a painter, Quentin Varin of Beauvais, who lived at Les Andelys ; and the lad worked with him until he was eighteen. He then set out for Paris ; and being penniless painted ” trumeaux “—the panels between windows and those over doors—on the road to pay his way. His first master in Paris was Ferdinand Elle, a Fleming. But Poussin soon left him for l’Allemand, an artist from Lorraine. A young Poitevin gentleman then took Poussin under his protection, and carried him off to bis Chateau in Poitou. Here, however, the young man’s mother treated the painter as a servant. He therefore left the house ; and worked his way back to Paris by painting en route. He was now twenty. Some of the pictures of this period were landscapes for the Chateau de Clisson. A Bacchanal for a gallery in the Chateau de Cheverney. St. Francis and St. Charles Borromeo for the Choir of the Capucins at Blois.

After an illness in Paris he returned to his home for a year. He then set out for Rome. But he got no further than Florence ; and returning to Paris he became intimate with Philippe de Champaigne, also a pupil of l’Allemand’s.. Both the young men were employed by Duchesne, a mediocre artist, who was entrusted with the decorations of the Luxembourg. Again Poussin endeavoured to get to Rome. But he was obliged, by want of money, to stop in Lyons, where he painted a number of pictures.

It was not until 1623, that six pictures in Paris, painted in distemper in less than a week for the College of the Jesuits, drew the attention of the Chevalier Marini to Poussin. Marini lodged him in his own house ; employed him on drawings for his poem of Adonis ; and declared himself his patron. And when Marini returned to Rome,. Poussin, after completing various pictures, rejoined him in Rome in the spring of 1624. Here Cardinal Barberini also became his patron. But upon the death of Marini, and the departure of the Cardinal on missions to France and Spain, Poussin was reduced to such straits that he sold a battle-piece for fourteen crowns, and a Prophet for less than two. Despite his poverty he diligently studied antiquities, architecture, anatomy, perspective, ” and sought ” among the great authors the subjects which would best ” express moral character and the affections—force of expression appearing to him as one of the most desirable ” qualities “.

During a serious illness Poussin was tenderly cared for by his countryman, Jean Dughet, whose daughter he married in 1629. As he had no children he adopted his wife’s two brothers, Jean Dughet, the engraver, and Gaspar Dughet, known as “Gaspar Poussin,” who, with Claude, was the father of French landscape.

Poussin now established himself on the Pincian Hill, close to Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa. And when Cardinal Barberini returned to Rome his success began. From the year 1624 a close intimacy had sprung up between Poussin and Stella ; and when the latter was lodged in the Louvre, a long correspondence was carried on between the two artists. Poussin also corresponded for twenty-eight years with Fréart de Chantelou, maître d’hotel of Louis XIII. The pictures which he painted for these friends inspired M. de Noyers, Minister of State and superintendent of the Royal buildings, with the strong desire to induce him to return to Paris. But Poussin could not make up his mind to quit Rome. He only yielded after a second letter from the Minister, and one from Louis XIII. himself.

In 1640, after many delays, Poussin and Jean Dughet at length arrived in Paris. Here they were lodged in the Tuileries ; and treated with great distinction by the King and Richelieu. In the next year Poussin was appointed first painter to the King.’ And besides pictures for the Chapels of Saint Germain and Fontainebleau, this extraordinary artist in two years painted the compositions of the Labours of Hercules destined for the Grande Galerie of the Louvre—eight designs for Tapestry from the Old Testament—orders for Richelieu–frontispieces for books ; and drawings of ornaments for furniture.

In spite however of the King and the Cardinal’s support, Poussin found himself the victim of the intrigues of Vouet, Feuquières, and the architect Le Mercier. In 1642, therefore, he returned to Rome. And the deaths of Louis XIII. and Richelieu decided him never again to leave Italy. His great talent matured late. As the moment of his journey to France approaches ” his talent grows loftier, purer ; and after his ” return to Rome it reaches its apogee “. ” This celebrated ” artist, after the most laborious existence possible, comparable in its noble gravity with that of the most renowned ” philosophers of ancient times, died at the age of seventy-” two years, leaving his poor relatives in Normandy the ” modest sum of 10,000 crowns, which had- been so gloriously ” earned.”

In the Louvre we have a good example of his first style in the Plague of Ashdod (710). After his return to Rome in 1642, The Manna (709) is an excellent specimen of his second and finest style. And if in his old age his hand becomes somewhat heavy and tremulous, his imagination grows even bolder and more poetic.

Examples in England :

Sixteen pictures, of which seven are original, Dulwich Gallery.

National Gallery :

Bacchanalian Dance. Cephalus and Aurora. Venus surprised by Satyrs. Nursing of Bacchus. Bacchanalian Festival. Landscape. Plague at Ashdod. The last two are doubtful. But the first five are of the highest beauty and value.

Four pictures at Hampton Court.

The Duke of Rutland possesses one set of The Seven Sacraments, Belvoir Castle.

Lord Ellesmere has the other.

Examples in the Louvre :

Best examples of Poussin’s early style—The Plague (710) is undoubtedly a fine picture ; individual figures are of great beauty, especially the boy on the right. Le Jeune Pyrrhus Sauvé (726) is full of vigour and movement. Of his second and finest manner are the charming and graceful Bergers d’Arcadie (734), and The Manna (709), which is fine in colour and in movement, with small figures. Among the pictures of his old age, in La Femme Adultère (710) the colour is sad, and the figure of Christ poor and unworthy. The Adoration of the Magi (712) is flat, yet fine. But the best of this period are the Four Seasons (736-739), for though again the colour is very sad, the landscapes are exquisite, and the whole series full of poetry.

There are four important pictures at Chantilly.

GELLÉE, CLAUDE, dit LE LORRAIN, known in England as CLAUDE LORRAINE (b. 1600, Chateau de Chamagne, on the Moselle, diocese of Toul ; d. Rome, 1682).—The parents of this noble painter died when he was twelve years old. He then joined his eldest brother, an accomplished wood-engraver, at Fribourg (in Breisgau), who employed him for a year in designing ornaments and arabesques. He then went with a relation, a lace merchant, to Rome ; where he gave himself up entirely to study. His slender resources being exhausted he went to Naples, and spent two years with Geoffroy Walls, a Cologne painter, who taught him to paint landscape. He then returned to Rome and studied under Agostino Tassi, in whose house he lived till 1625.

In this year he returned by way of Loretto, Venice, the Tyrol and Bavaria to his native country ; and then went to Nancy. Here a relation introduced him to Charles Dervent, painter to the Duc Henri de Lorraine, who was engaged upon the decoration of the vaulting in the church of the Carmelites. Dervent employed Claude to paint the architecture in his decorations. But the death of a gilder who fell from the scaffolding, disgusted him with this kind of work, and he determined to return to Rome. At Marseilles he joined Charles Errard, the King’s painter, who twenty years later was to be one of the foremost in founding the Academy of Painting and Sculpture. And they arrived in Rome on St. Luke’s Day, 1627.

Claude now established himself in Rome. And two landscapes which he painted for Cardinal Bentivoglio had so great a success, that the Cardinal and Pope Urbain VIII. declared themselves his patrons. His works quickly became so popular, that several painters who frequented his studio stole his compositions, and, imitating his manner, sold these pastiches as his works, before the master had finished the real picture. It has been supposed that it was in order to guard himself against this traffic, that Claude formed the habit of making a careful drawing of each picture, with the date and name of the owner. Whether or not this precious collection, now known as the Libro di Verita or d’invenzioni, owes its origin to fear of plagiarism, or loss of memory, or, as is more probable, to the artist’s wish to preserve a recollection of his works, matters but little. That it exists is the main thing. It was begun when he was working on the pictures ordered by the King of Spain ; and consists of 200 drawings washed with bistre. This collection according to his will, was always to remain in his family as an heirloom. Cardinal d’Estrées endeavoured to buy it from the painter’s grandsons. But they refused to part with this precious treasure at any price. Other heirs however, later on, were less scrupulous. They sold it for 200 crowns to a jeweller, who resold it in Holland. About 1770 it was secured by the Duke of Devonshire, and has ever since been safely kept at Devonshire House. It was engraved in aquatint by Earlon, and published by Boydell in 1774. Loaded with honours and riches, Claude worked on, in spite of suffering forty years from gout, to the very end. A drawing of his, dated 1682, the year of his death, is in possession of the Queen. He was buried in the Trinita-del-Monte, from whence in 1840 M. Thiers had his remains removed, and buried in Saint-Louis-des-Français.

Besides the immense number of his pictures—in 1644 alone, he painted seventeen—he produced many eaux-fortes, beginning in 1630, which sell at high prices. England happily possesses many of the finest specimens of this truly great master’s work. The Claudes of the Dulwich Gallery, especially the numbers 205, 215 and 220, are of the greatest beauty. So is the Repos de la Sainte Famille, with its delicate tones.

Examples—National Gallery :

Queen of Sheba, 14.

Isaac and Rebecca, 12.

Embarkation of St. Ursula, 30,

Landscape, 19, and Nos. 6, 55, 58.

Coast scene on the Mediterranean, Hertford House.

Large landscape, Hertford House.

Europa, Buckingham Palace.

Port de Mer, Hampton Court.

Landscape. A Seaport. Landscape, Rome in distance. Landscape, Claude painting. And a port, Windsor Castle.

The pendants known as

The Worship of the Golden Calf, Grosvenor House.

The Sermon on the Mount, Grosvenor House.

The Libro di Verita, Devonshire House.

Two hundred and seventy sketches, British Museum. Sixteeen pictures in the Louvre, of which seven are more or less doubtful or repainted. Seven of these are recorded in the Libro di Verita.

Port de mer, Soleil levant, signed Claudio in Roma, 310.

Campo Vaccino, Rome, rather hard and dull, 311.

Fête Villageoise, signed Claudio inv. Romae, 1639, 312.

Port de mer, soleil couchant, pink sunset, signed Claudio inv. Rom, 1639, 313.

Landing of Cleopatra. Sir Joshua Reynolds also had a landing of Cleopatra, sold 1795, 250 guineas.

David crowned by Samuel, Coll. Louis XIV., lovely landscape, Romae, 1647, 315.

Ulysses and Chryseis, Coll. Louis XIV., golden sky, a glow of gold, 316.

Port de mer, soleil voilé par une brume, Claude in Roma, 1646, 317.

‘These are not comparable to our collections in the National Gallery and at Dulwich.

Ten pictures in the Gallery of Madrid. Five of these are in the Libro di Verita, and mentioned as ” painted for the King of Spain “.

MOSNIER, JEAN (b. 1600, Blois ; d. 1650 or 1656, Blois).—An artist of Blois, he painted decorations in the Bishop’s Palace at Chartres, at Chinon, Saumur, Tours, Nogent le Rotrou, Chateau de Valençay, and the Chateau de Cheverny, three miles from Blois, where his paintings still exist. He lived five years in Rome ; was a friend of Poussin ; and was protected by Marie de Médici, who made his acquaintance during her exile at Blois. The Louvre possesses one of his pictures, La Magnificence royale, from the collection of Louis XIV.

LA HIRE, LAURENT DE (b. Paris, 1606 ; d. Paris, 1656).—La Hire, one of the twelve founders of the Academy who took the title of Anciens, was a pupil of his father and of Lallemand. He worked in the Palais Royal for Richelieu, for Chancellor Séguier, and for many others. He painted a number of portraits. And decorated many Hotels in the Marais, and the Church of the Capucines in the same quarter. Nine pictures by La Hire are in the Louvre. Most of them large, tedious, academic compositions. But 460 deserves attention as a charming landscape. The foreground trees are conventional ; but the distance is full of a delicate sense of nature.

GASPAR DUGHET (commonly called GASPAR POUSSIN} (b. Rome, 1613 ; d. Rome, 1675).—Son of Jean Dughet, a Parisian settled in Rome. He studied for three years under his brother-in-law Poussin. Having no children, Poussin adopted Gaspar Dughet, who took his name. Gaspar Poussin’s landscapes were chiefly painted in the neighbourhood of Rome, though he also worked at Milan, Perugia and Florence. Many of them are painted direct from nature, as he worked a great deal in the open air. He care-fully studied the works of Claude Lorrain.

The National Gallery possesses some of the very finest specimens of the artist’s work. The ” Italian Landscape,” bequeathed by Lord Farnborough, is of the utmost beauty. The hill town, with waterfall and olive grounds in the foreground, and snow alps behind, is a noble rendering of nature, despite touches of conventionality from which no pictures of the period are wholly free. The same may be said of the ” Evening view near Albano,” with a flock of sheep corning down a road through the forest after the half-naked shepherd, and of The Landstorm, Dido and AEneas, and the Calling of Abraham. Nearly all the great collections in England have examples of the work of Gaspar Poussin or of his school.

In the Royal Collections we find :

Paysage, Buckingham Palace.

Jonas thrown into the Sea, and two landscapes, Windsor Castle.

Italian Landscape, National Gallery.

Evening view near Albano, National Gallery. The Land Storm, National Gallery.

Dido and AEneas, National Gallery.

The Calling of Abraham, National Gallery.

Castle in a Wood, Dulwich Gallery.

Children of Niobe, Dulwich Gallery.

Mountainous Landscape, Bath Art Museum. Landscape, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

Two Landscapes, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

A. Land storm, National Gallery, Edinburgh.

Three Landscapes, Corporation Galleries, Glasgow.

There are many more in private collections.

MIGNARD, PIERRE (b. Troyes, 1610 ; d. Paris, 1695).-Pierre Mignard was destined by his father to be a doctor—his eldest brother Nicholas being already a painter. But the child showed such talent for art, that his father sent him when only twelve years old to a painter named Boucher at Bourges. After a year’s study Pierre returned to Troyes ; and then went to Fontainebleau, where he spent two years in studying the paintings and sculptures in the Chateau. On his return to Troyes he painted the Chapel of the Chateau de Coubert, belonging to the Maréchal de Vitry. M. de Vitry then placed the young painter with Vouet, who wished him to marry his daughter. Mignard however refused the honour, going off to Rome in 1636, where he found his fellow-student du Fresnoy. His first works in Rome were two large pictures of the family of M. Hugues de Lionne and M. M. Arnaud. These established his reputation as a portrait painter. He painted the Popes Urbain VIII., Innocent X., and numbers of celebrated persons.

Alphonse Louis du Plessis, Cardinal de Lyon, the elder brother of Richelieu, coming to Rome, Mignard in eight months copied for him the decorations by Annibal Carraci of the Gallery of the Farnese Palace. In 1654 he started to join du Fresnoy at Venice, being received with great distinction by artists and nobles alike at Rimini, Bologna, Modena, Parma, Mantua. After some months in Modena and Venice he returned to Rome, painting Alexander VII.—and numbers of pictures of the Virgin, which were known as ” Mignardes .”

At length, after twenty-two years in Rome, Louis XIV. recalled him to France. Arriving at Marseilles in 1657, he was attacked by serious illness, and spent seven or eight months at Avignon with his brother Nicholas. Here it was that the friendship with Molière began, which lasted their lives. In Lyons he painted several portraits. But he had to hurry on to Fontainebleau, where Mazarin had ordered a portrait of the King. This was painted in three hours, and sent to Spain to the Infanta who Louis XIV. was to marry. Royalty and nobles all now desired to be painted by this distinguished and successful painter. The duc d’Épernon gave him 1000 crowns for his portrait ; and paid him 40,000 livres for the decoration of a room in the Hotel de Longueville. For the Queen-Mother he painted the fresco in the Dome of the Val-du-Grace, with 200 figures of Saints, the three persons of the Trinity, and Anne of Austria.

In 1664 he was made chief of the Academy of St. Luke, refusing to belong to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, because he would not take a lower place than Le Brun, of whom he was intensely jealous. It was not until Le Brun’s death in 1690 that Mignard joined the ranks of the Academy. He succeeded his adversary as premier peintre du roi “. And in one sitting of the Academy on March 4 was made academician, professor, rector, director and chancellor ! Being further appointed director of manufactures. In 1677 he decorated the Grand Salon at St. Cloud, for Philippe d’Orléans, the King’s only brother. And a few years later painted the little Gallery at Versailles, and the rooms which opened from it. These decorations, which were engraved by Audran, were destroyed in 1736. In 1691 Louvois consulted him about the decoration for the Dome of the Invalides. This, although he was then eighty-one, Mignard begged to undertake himself. With extraordinary vigour he sent Louvois the whole scheme completed in two months. But although it was accepted, he died before he could put the work in hand.

In his last years he painted Mme. de Maintenon as Sainte Françoise. Louis XIV. for the tenth time. The Royal family of England. St. Matthew for Trianon. And his last picture, signed ” P. Mignard pinxit 1695, aetatis 83,” was a St. Luke (now in the Louvre), in which he has represented himself standing behind the Saint, a brush in one hand, and a piece of paper on which the subject is sketched in the other. He finished all but a corner of the carpet.

At Versailles, among many works by Mignard, two call for special notice. One is the great picture, so well known, of Louis XIV. in armour on horseback, crowned by Victory after the conquest of Maestricht. It now occupies the place of one of the two pictures by Veronese, in a superb frame by Vassé over the mantelpiece of the Salon d’Hercule. The other is the portrait of his daughter, Catherine Mignard, the young Comtesse de Feuquières, the ” Queen of Beauty ” of the siècle Versaillais “. ” Her father has desired to “represent her as the messenger of his own glory. Very “slender, very elegant, facing the spectator, dressed in a ” blue dress and lilac mantle, with flowers in her black hair, ” she holds in one hand the trumpet of fame and the ” sketch of her father’s portrait. Drawings by Mignard lie ” on the table ; and what better way of assuring immortality “for himself than to entrust it to such an exquisite Re-” nommée ? ” 1

Examples in England :

Le Dauphin et sa famille, Buckingham Palace.

Hortense et Marie Mancini ; Charlotte (or Henriette) d’Orléans and children ; Louis XIV. ; La diseuse de bonne aventure, Windsor.

Two Portraits of Louis XIV., enfant, Hampton Court. These can hardly be authentic as Mignard never saw Louis XIV. until he was eighteen years old.

Portrait Louis XIV., E. A. Leatham, Esq.

Louvre. Ten Pictures. The best are :

Portraits of Le Grand Dauphin, his wife and three children. (A replica at Versailles. Sacristy of Church of Notre Dame), 638.

Portrait of Mignard by himself, 640.

Saint Cecilia, 634.

Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, as Ste. Françoise, 639.

St. Luke painting the Virgin (see above), 353. Versailles :

Louis XIV. crowned by Victory, Salle d’Hercule. Catherine Mignard, Comtesse de Feuquières. Colbert.

Duchesse de Maine, as a child blowing bubbles. Comte de Toulouse, son of Mme. de Montespan, enfant, ” en joli amour nu “.

Chantilly :

Molière. Mazarin. Henriette d’Angleterre. Mme. de Suze, Henriette de Coligny.

Madrid :

Jeune Prince de la Maison de France ; Marie Thérèsa ; and three others.

LE SOEUR, EUSTACHE (b. Paris, 1617 ; d. 1655).—Le Soeur was one of the few painters of the time who positively refused to go to Rome. He however studied the best Italian works which were brought to Paris. But he stands alone, and remains a distinct and marked figure among his contemporaries. He was placed with Vouet as a youth, and made rapid progress in his art. Admitted to the Guild of Master Painters, he left them on the founding of the Academy, of which he was one of the twelve Anciens. After leaving Vouet, he painted eight pictures in his manner. But he soon became master of his own style—the style which he kept perfectly pure and individual during his short life.

It was now that he painted the celebrated decorations for the Hotel of M. Lambert de Thorigny. These are now in the Louvre. They consist of a charming series of six pictures, the “History of Cupid,” from the Cabinet de l’Amour, and the great ceiling, “Phaeton demande à Apollon la conduite du char du soleil “—a composition of extraordinary vigour, and yet breezy lightness. The colour is extremely delicate, pure and harmonious. Five pictures from the Chambre des Muses, which are of great beauty, especially the two largest, 598 and 599. And the ceiling of another room, ” Ganymède enlevé par Jupiter,” a painting of great beauty and force. Le Soeur also painted decorations in the Louvre for Anne of Austria. They existed in 1710, but are now probably destroyed, as they cannot be traced.

In 1645 he began the famous series of twenty-four pictures—the life of St. Bruno—for the Chartreux de Paris, now in the Louvre. In all we find great breadth and freedom of treatment, an honesty of purpose and grace which is most remarkable. The bright blue, which, until he takes the habit, seems to be an attribute of St. Bruno, is a somewhat unpleasing note in the otherwise sober and tender colour. The picture No. 578, in which St. Bruno receives a messenger from the Pope, is of great beauty, especially the landscape of mountains and olive trees outside the Chartreuse, and the charming figure of the messenger. ” At an epoch of decadence, when painting in France only ” shed a factitious light, the pale reflection of the good ” traditions which were dying out in Italy, le Soeur knew ” how to free himself from the academic methods to which ” his master had at first bound him down, and to keep intact ” to the end of his short existence that purity of sentiment ” which characterises the most noble geniuses of the greatest ” days of art.”‘

Besides these series, he painted man pictures for private persons. For the Churches of Saint tienne-du-Mont, St. Germain l’Auxerrois, St. Gervais, and others. And the May offering in 1649 for Notre Dame, of St. Paul at Ephesus. This and several of the others are now in the Louvre.

Examples—Louvre :

Eleven pictures from various Churches.

Histoire de Cupidon, 591-596.

Ceiling, Phaeton, 597.

The Muses and ceiling Ganymède, 598-603.

Vie de Saint Bruno, 564-587.

Réunion d’Artistes.

In England :

Holy Family, National Gallery.

Drawing in Sepia, Art Museum, Nottingham. Queen of Sheba, Devonshire House.

LE BRUN, CHARLES, Painter, Engraver and Architect (b. Paris, 1619 ; d. Gobelins, 1690).—Son of a sculptor, Le Brun drew from his earliest years ; his father placing him with Le Bourgignon. At eleven, Chancellor Séguier took him into his Hotel, and sent him to Vouet. After this he went to Fontainebleau to study the Royal collection of pictures. At fifteen he painted several remarkable pictures for Cardinal Richelieu, which were approved by Poussin. His intense activity manifested itself early ; he painted without ceasing, engraved A l’eau forte, and modelled in wax. In 1642, when Poussin returned to Rome, Séguier sent young Le Brun thither with him, giving him a pension of 200 crowns. After staying there for four years, he returned to Paris, stopping on his way at Lyons, where he left several pictures.

In 1647 he painted the Martyrdom of St. Andrew for Notre Dame. The next year he took an active part in establishing the Academy of Painting and Sculpture. In this he occupied all grades ; finally becoming director in 1683. In 1649 he worked at the same time as Le Soeur at the Hotel Lambert, decorating the great Gallery with the “Labours of Hercules “. And Fouquet gave him an allowance of 12,000 francs, besides orders for pictures at Vaux. Fouquet also presented him to Mazarin, and Mazarin presented him to Louis XIV. The Queen-Mother now ordered a picture for her Oratory (now in Louvre).

1660 was a year of great importance in the painter’s life. He designed the decorations for the Place Dauphine, on the entry of the King and Marie Thérèse. Colbert in the same year appointed him director of the Gobelins—the ateliers for all the tapestries, furniture, goldsmith’s work, mosaics, and marqueterie of the Crown. For all these Le Brun furnished the designs, and superintended the execution. But further, Le Brun was summoned to Fontainebleau, to paint a picture for the King on some subject from the Life of Alexander. He chose the ” Family of Darius “. It made his fortune with Louis XIV., who came in nearly every day to see how the work progressed, and ” was no ” less satisfied with the intellect, manners, and conversation ” of the painter, than with the productions of his brush “. The King was so charmed with the picture, that he gave Le Brun his portrait set in diamonds. And in 1662 appointed him his ” premier peintre ” ; gave him 12,000 francs a year ; ennobled him ; and made him director of his collections, with power to buy works of art for them. Four other pictures of the Life of Alexander were painted at the Gobelins, and are now in the Louvre, the whole series being intended for reproduction in tapestry.

After the fire of 1661, which destroyed the Galerie des peintures, Le Brun restored the Louvre, and built and decorated the Galerie d’Apollon—so called in honour of the ” roi soleil “.

In 1666 he persuaded the King to found the French Academy at Rome, to which the best pupils of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture were sent on gaining the ” Prix de Rome,” to study for three years. And Errard was made its first Director. In 1667 he accompanied the King on his campaign in Flanders ; and to this time we probably owe the magnificent sketch from nature of Turenne, at Versailles. It is merely a head, rapidly painted for a tapestry cartoon of the meeting of Louis XIV. and Philip IV. But it is a chef d’oeuvre that once seen can never be forgotten.

In 1676 he painted the Chateau of Sceaux, furnishing designs for fountains and statues in its park. He also painted pictures for the King, decorated the staircase at Versailles, and façades of pavilions at Marly. And in 1679 he under-took his greatest work, the painting and ornamentation of the Grande Galerie at Versailles. It is happily spared us, and is one of the most remarkable works in France. Seventy-three metres in length and twelve in breadth, the ceiling contains a History of the Grand Monarque in thirty magnificent compositions.

When Louvois succeeded Colbert as ” surintendant des batiments ” in 1683, his jealousy of Colbert extended itself to those his predecessor had employed. He therefore set up Mignard in opposition to Le Brun, whose works he criticised with ceaseless acrimony. Though still supported by the King, and given fresh rewards and marks of favour, Le Brun had not the fortitude to withstand the intrigues of Louvois and Mignard. He ceased going to court. And falling ill was taken in a dying condition to his house of Montmorency at the Gobelins, where he expired on the 12th of February, 1690. He was buried in the chapel of St. Charles, which he had decorated, in the church of St. Nicholas au Chardonnet.

” During the whole time he enjoyed the royal favour, Le ” Brun exercised a despotic power on Art. Painters, sculptors, “decorators, whatever their talent, had to make up their ” minds only to work from his drawings, or according to his ” advice.”‘ Hence the uniformity of style in works of this period.—A period of unity and science, of instruction in Art, which is greatly due to the influence of the King, Colbert, and Le Brun, whose ideal of beauty was thoroughly in accord. It was not an exalted ideal. But no one can deny that it was one of extreme grandeur. If he was a genius of second rank, he was a universal one. In spite of weakness of colour, which was red and sombre, heaviness of drawing, and a slackness of execution, Le Brun is an eminent artist by reason of the inexhaustible fertility and the nobility of his conceptions.

Examples. Twenty-six pictures in the Louvre. Among them are :

The Family of Darius. 511.

Passage du Granique. 509.

Entrée d’Alexandre à Babylone. 519.

Versailles :

Decorations of the Grande Galerie des Glaces, containing thirty pictures of the History of Louis XIV.

Cartoons for Tapestry—the series of the twelve months, or ” Chateaux,” by Le Brun and Van der Meulen. 4680-91.

Portrait of Turenne. 3488.

In England :

Massacre of the Innocents, Dulwich Gallery. Hortensia, Birmingham Art Gallery.

Judgment of Paris, Bath Art Museum.

Holy family, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Hercules and Diomed, an early work mentioned by de Piles, Nottingham Art Museum.

Le Combat, Buckingham Palace.

Princesses Antoinette and Louisa of Saxe-Coburg, Windsor Castle.

BOURDON, SEBASTIEN (b. Montpellier, 1616 ; d. Paris, 1671).—One of the twelve Anciens who founded the Academy, Bourdon deserves consideration as a painter of merit greatly admired by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was proud of possessing the ” Return of the Ark,” now in the National Gallery. He, like Le Brun, began painting in his infancy, being sent to Paris to study at seven years of age. At fourteen he was painting fresco decorations at Bordeaux. He then en-listed. But his officer seeing his talent, gave him his release, and he went to Rome. M. Hesselin then took him back to Paris ; and his small battle pieces, hunting scenes and landscapes were much sought after. After a sojourn in Sweden, where he became first painter to Queen Christina, he returned to Paris and found himself famous.

In 1663 he painted the great gallery of M. de Bretonvillier’s Hotel in the Ile Notre Dame. This, the history of Phaeton, twenty fathoms in length, has been incorrectly attributed to Le Brun. He had numerous pupils. His four discourses at the Academy were—1667, on Poussin’s Aveugles de Jèrico. 1668, St. Stephen, by Carraci. 1669, on the six parts of the day for the light in pictures. 1671, on the Study of the Antique.

The Louvre has thirteen pictures and four portraits. His own portrait. 9.

Deposition. 71.

Portrait of René Descartes. 78.

Return of the Ark, National Gallery.

COURTOIS, JACQUES, dit LE BOURGIGNON (b. St. Hippolyte, Franche-Comté, 1621 ; cl. Rome, 1676).–Of Courtois, better known as Le Bourgignon, it is not easy to speak as. a French painter. He went to Italy at the age of fifteen. And in Italy he spent his whole life, painting chiefly battle pieces. Of these there are three excellent small specimens in the Louvre. The colour is rich and sober, in places it almost amounts to a grisaille in tones of brown. The movement is, vigorous and full of life, the composition admirable.

Battle. 154.

Combat de Cavalerie. 149.

Marche des Troupes. 150.

FEBVRE, CLAUDE (b. 1633, Fontainebleau ; ol. London,. 1675).-An excellent portrait painter. He painted the King,, Queen, and principal personages at Court. He became a member of the Academy in 1663. Then went to England, where his portraits were almost as much esteemed as those of Van Dyck. And died in London 1675. Portrait d’un maître et de son élève, Louvre. 529.

FOSSE, CHARLES DE LA (b. Paris, 1636 ; ol. Paris, 1719).—A pupil of Le Brun, he went to Rome at the age of twenty-two—Colbert, interested in his drawings, giving him a pension to enable him to continue his studies. Returning to Paris after five years’ study in Rome and Venice of the great colourists, he first painted a fresco in the Chapelle des Mariages at St. Eustache. Then the roof of the Choir and the Dome of the Church of the Assumption. He was then employed at Versailles, and Meudon, the Maison de Choisy,. and different Churches in Paris and the provinces.

In 1673 he joined the Academy, and rose through all the grades to Chancellor. But what renders him specially interesting to English people is, that Lord Montagu, who had known him while Ambassador in Paris, summoned him to England to decorate Montagu House. He stayed four months making his preparations. And returned the next year, bringing with him Rousseau and Monnoyer to help him with the architecture and flowers of his paintings. The work took him eighteen months. William III. wished him to remain in England and decorate Hampton Court. But Mignard being old, Mansart recalled la Fosse to Paris in hopes of his getting the concession for the decoration of the Invalides, which Mignard was too old to carry out. La Fosse stayed with Mansart on his return, and in his house sketched all the subjects for this colossal work : but he only painted the Dome and the four supporting angles, in fresco. This cupola is 56 feet in diameter, and the decoration comprises thirty-eight figures forming three groups, the principal one representing St. Louis placing his crown and sword in the hands of Christ.

The ceilings of the Salon d’Apollon and the Salle de Diane, at Versailles, are by La Fosse. He also painted the roof of the Chapel, aided by Jouvenet and Ant. Coypel. Five pictures by him are in the Louvre. But the decorations of Montagu House, the Invalides, and Versailles show his talent to the greatest advantage.

MONNOYER, JEAN BAPTISTE (b. Lille, 1634 ; d. London, 1699).-A flower painter of great merit, came to England in 1690 with La Fosse. He decorated the great drawing-room, the staircase and other rooms in Montagu House with flowers and fruit. And worked a great deal with Kneller, introducing flowers into his portraits.

Five pictures in the Louvre.

Decorations at Holyrood.

Decorations at Montagu House.

JOUVENET, JEAN (b. Rouen, 1644; d. Paris, 1717).—Jouvenet, whose grandfather taught Poussin the elements of drawing, came to Paris in 1661. Le Brun employed him at Versailles, where he painted some of the decorations of the Salon de Mars, and of the roof of the Chapel (see La Fosse).

He became a member of the Academy in 1674, and rose to be rector in 1707. He painted the ceiling of the Parliament House at Rheims, and other decorations, besides numbers of sacred pictures which were greatly sought after for Altar pieces. In 1713, his right hand being paralysed, he took to painting with his left. And thus painted the ceiling of the Parliament House at Rouen, and The Magnificat in Notre Dame, Paris.

Eleven of his pictures are in the Louvre. Of these (455), the Pêche Miraculeuse, gives a good idea of what was then admired as a sacred picture. On a huge canvas, a scene upon the deck of a fishing vessel at Marseilles or Civita Vecchia is portrayed, with the figure of Christ thrown in. By far the finest of these pictures is a portrait (441) of ” Fagon, premier médecin de Louis XIV. “. It is a most striking and life-like piece of work, both as to character and painting. In England there is a portrait of Madame de Maintenon as St. Cecilia, Barnard Castle ; and a Descent from the Cross in the Parish Church of Wednesbury.

LES BOULOGNE—BON DE BOULOGNE, dit L’AINi ; Louis DE BOULOGNE, dit LE JEUNE (b. Paris, 1649 ; d. 1717 ; b. 1654 ; d. 1733),-were sons of Louis de Boulogne, also an historical painter, and must be noted for the two brothers and their two sisters, Geneviève and Madeleine, were all members of the Academy. Some of Bon’s pictures in the Louvre are interesting. (51) ” L’Annonciation ” is graceful, showing late Italian tendencies. His reception picture at the Academy (53), ” Hercule combat les Centaures,” is fine in colour and in movement.

SANTERRE, JEAN BAPTISTE (b. Magny, près Pontoise, 1650 ; d. Paris, 1717),-entered the school of Bon de Boulogne. He experimented on fixity of colours in the open air, reducing the number which could be safely employed to five. He dried his pictures in the sun and only varnished at the end of ten years. Santerre worked with extreme slowness. Voltaire speaks of him with enthusiasm. “Il y a de lui des tableaux de chevalet admirables, d’un ” coloris vrai et tendre. Son tableau d’Adam et Eve est un ” des plus beau qu’il y ait en Europe.” This is somewhat exaggerated praise ! But many of his portraits are really beautiful works of art.

Santerre seems to have been an eccentric character. He abandoned portrait painting, on account of the extreme irritation caused him by stupid remarks on the likenesses. ” He ” declared he would not henceforward paint anything but ” fancy heads, and that he would only copy from his models ” such features as pleased him.” In spite of these singular conditions, many people submitted to them. He also painted allegoric or mythologic half lengths, which were extremely popular. He was received into the Academy with the picture of Susanne au Bain (835), now in the Louvre, and a portrait of Coypel. But he had an academy of his own, of young girls who often served as his models.

Examples—Louvre :

Susanne au Bain. 835.

Portrait de Femme. 836.

Portrait de Santerre. 837.

Versailles :

Duchesse de Bourgogne, salle des Gardes de la Reine. 2117.

Le Régent, Philippe d’Orléans. 3701.

Two portraits of Louise Adelaide d’Orleans, Abbesse de Chelles. 3725-6.

The portrait of the Duchesse de Bourgogne is Santerre’s chef d’oeuvre, and one of the most charming portraits of the whole period.

LARGILLIÈRE, NICHOLAS (b. Paris, 1656; d. Paris, 1746).-Although both Largillière and Rigaud lived till the middle of the 18th century, so much of their most important work belongs to the reign of Louis XIV., that they must be noted in this chapter. At three years old Largillière’s father—an Antwerp merchant—took him to Antwerp, sending him to London when he was nine years old, where the boy stayed twenty months devoting himself exclusively to drawing. On his return to Antwerp he entered the studio of Antoine Goubeau, a Flemish painter of landscapes and fairs. Largillière was already sufficiently accomplished to be able to help his master, painting flowers, fish and fruit in his pictures. At eighteen he left Goubeau and went to England, where he worked for four years. Sir Peter Lely received him kindly, and employed him to restore some of the great masters, and to enlarge others for Windsor ! Charles II. was so delighted at his restoration of an ” Amour endormi ” that he wished to see him, and ordered several pictures from him. He finished three : but on account, it is said, of the Catholic persecutions, returned to France. Here he painted many portraits, among others one of Van der Meulen, who with Le Brun made friends with him. Charles II. tried to persuade him to return to England. But he found him-self too well established in France. Though he painted historical pictures, animals, fruit and flowers, his chief work was portrait painting. On his reception at the Academy, his diploma picture was the portrait of Le Brun, now in the Louvre. After the Accession of James II., he returned for a short time to England to paint the King and Queen. But in spite of exorbitant offers he refused to remain, and returned to France.

Twelve pictures in the Louvre. Of these the most important are :

Portrait of Le Brun. 482.

Portrait of Coustou (sculptor). 492.

President de Laage. 488.

Un Magistrat. 490.

Portrait d’Homme. 486.

Comte de la Châtre. 483.

Largillière with wife and daughter. 491.

Portrait d’un échevin. 487.

This last is a delightful bit of self-important pomposity, gloves in hand, in his black robe over crimson velvet. The colour in all these portraits is fine, rich and charmingly harmonious.

Versailles :

The Regent, Duc d’Orléans. 4302.

Le Peletier, maître de requêtes. 4409.

Conseiller d’état Morant. 4410.

Largillière painting his Mother’s portrait. 4416. Chantilly :–

Mlle. Duclos in the role of Ariane ; and two others. Madrid :

Infanta Anne Victoire, fiancée de Louis XVIII., and three others.

In England :

Mme. de l’Aubespine, M. Sedelmeyer.

Two portraits of Noblemen, Barnard Castle.

Mme. de Parabère, Mr. Charles Butler.

RIGAUD, HYACINTHE (b. Perpignan, 1659 ; ol. Paris, 1743).—Rigaud was one of the many artists whose youth was adventurous and full of struggles, and whose talent and determination triumphed over all difficulties. At eight years old he lost his father, Matthias Rigaud, a painter and the son of a painter. At fourteen his mother—that valiant Marie Serre, whose noble double portrait (784) we all know in the Louvre-sent the boy to Montpellier to ‘study with Pezet, an inferior painter. Pezet however owned fine pictures, and these young Rigaud copied, learning more from Ranc, with whom he made friends, than from his master.

In 1681 he came to Paris, and followed the classes at the Academy. He also painted thirty-three portraits in two years. And Le Brun, who saw his portrait of La Fosse, advised him to devote himself to this line of painting, instead of competing for the Prix de Rome. This advice he followed. He copied Van Dyck’s portraits, and became intimate with Largillière, and the elder de Troy. But Rigaud had ambitions, and wished to be received as a historical painter at the Academy. The Academy however wished him to enter its ranks as a portrait painter, and only yielded in 1700. His entrance pictures were the St. André, and the portrait of Desjardins, (both in the Louvre). He became Rector in 1733. In 1709 he was made one of the Noble Citizens of Perpignan. And in 1727 Louis XV. gave him the Order of St. Michel.

Rigaud was a painter of Royalty. He painted portraits of five Kings, all the princes of the blood, and the most distinguished personages of Europe ; producing thirty to forty portraits a year, all with his own hand.

He has seventeen pictures in the Louvre :

Portrait of Louis XIV. 781.

Full length Philip V. of Spain. 782.

Marie Serre, mère de Rigaud, two heads facing. 784..

Man and woman, portrait heads, unknown. 789. 780..

Presentation in temple, small, gorgeous draperies.

Robert de Cotte, premier architecte du roi. 730.

J. F. P. de Créqui, duc de Lesdiguières, enfant. 702.

Cardinal de Polignac, a magnificent portrait, face in bad condition. 791.

At Versailles, Rigaud is grandly represented :

Le Duc de Noailles. 4306.

Boileau (in 1706), réplique d’atelier. 4276.

Martin Desjardins. 3583.

Mignard, in black, in red chair. 3578.

Mignard, working, in full dress. 3680.

Dangeau, grand Maître (in 1702). 3652.

Louis XV., enfant ; twenty-four copies were made of this picture from 1716 to 1721. This is the original, painted in 1715. 3695.

Louis XV. (in 1730). 3750.

Louis XIV. ; Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé,. Abbé de la Trappe ; Jules Hardouin Mansart, Chantilly.

Louis XIV. (1701), in military dress, with order of the St. Esprit, Madrid

Fénélon, Buckingham Palace.

Three very doubtful portraits, certainly not by Rigaud,. but by a very inferior pupil, Dulwich.