Philippe de Champaigne's 'Saint Paul'

Author(s): Craig Felton

Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 124, No. 956 (Nov., 1982), pp. 692-694
Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/880908
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 SHORTER NOTICES

of the portraits later engraved as the Iconography, the formula of

which is frequently close to Vouet's. Pastel plays a central role
Philippe de Champaigne's 'Saint Paul'
in this realist, personalised approach,
BY CRAIG FELTON for it provides warm,
lively colour in eyes, hair, clothes and objects, as well as in the
background. Vouet not only blurs the blacks, not only defines
IN his article 'Sujets sacres et allegoriques d'apres Phil
areas of light and shade around the sitter, but places him in a
Champaigne',1 Bernard Dorival includes two engravin
halo of colour. The head of PipinJean
le Morin
Fou, (1600-50),
for example,
which reflectseems to
lost paintings of S
glow with vibrant yellow light, which
and St imbues
Paul by Philippe him, very
de Champaigne. The engraving
appropriately, with a peculiar sharpness. Similarly,
inscribed: 'Champaigne Pin.', 'Morin scul.the crown
cum Privil. Re.' and
of Neufgermain's head, covered
bearby a black
the appropriate saint'sskull-cap,
name.2 Both depict stands
half-length
out against a halo of white. The figures areledges
figures placed behind caught
that formin all boundary
the lower their of
individuality and originality, but what (Figs.46
the compositions seems soA natural
and 47). painting now onis thein
fact the result of much work and much talent. Subtleties of
London art market (Fig.45) contains a figure identical to that
draughtmanship, sharpness of representation and spontaneity
in the engraved St Paul. The ledge employed by the engraver in
of the sitter - Vouet's portraits testify to an ideal relationship
the foreground is, however, absent and the composition is
betwen artist and model.
slightly narrower.
On the basis of this characteristic approach to the sitter, The
it isfigure of St Paul is dressed in a red mantle over a blue
possible to attribute to Vouet the very similar Portrait of a girl
robe. His left hand is placed on the top of a book decorated on
(Fig.43) now in the Louvre, catalogued as Le Sueur.19 The
the cover with a cross within an oval. Behind the book and the
confident treatment of the hair, the sitter's lively expression
saint's wrist, the hilt of a sword projects toward the right. The
and half-open mouth, which capture the charm of childhood,
figure's brightly lit hand with the index finger raised in a
suggest, by comparison with the new portraits published here,
gesture of teaching reinforces the message just spoken by his
that the drawing is by Vouet himself.
parted lips. This is not the usual dynamic St Paul, rather, a
Felibien says that Vouet 'employa un temps considirable' on
kindly, gentle saint with softly waving hair and beard. A fine
these portraits-easy to believe when considering thisgolden very halo frames the head. (There is a pentimento of another
accomplished series, which won the artist considerablehalo, royallower and to the left.)
favour. It is, however, hard to know whether Vouet spent In his article, Dorival observed that the model for the
much time on portraits beyond these pastels produced at
engraving was obviously not 'Un St Paul en pied' that appeared
Court. Very few portraits from the Parisian period have been
in the Caylard sale in Paris on 22nd May 1809, No.35, 6pieds 1
identified: the Portrait of Louis XIII between France and Navarre in
po. x 30 po. (i.e. 225 by 81 cm) with the provenance ofa Jesuit
the Louvre is more accurately described as an allegory and the
convent in Paris.3 A painting of 'Saint Paul' is listed among the
Galerie des Hommes Illustres for the Palais Cardinal really
'petits tableaux dans le goz2t de Champaigne' in the inventory dated
counts as history painting. The inventories of the artist's21st
houseFebruary 1791 of the church of the Madeleine-en-la-Cite",
drawn up in 1639 and 16402o and his inventaire apres dic~s men-
Paris. Although Dorival does not include a description of this
tion several portraits and 'tWtes' by Vouet, among them two
painting in his article, he indicates in his 1976 monograph,
portraits of the Marichal d'Effiat2' and his wife; Cardinal
Philippe de Champaigne,4 that the Madeleine-en-la-Cite example
Mazarin's inventory22 made in 1661, also mentions portraits may have been a replica of the unknown original reflected in
by Vouet. He seems not to have produced large numbers of
the engraving. He suggest further that the original painting
effigies, unlike Philippe de Champaigne. Perhaps he was may too
have been the one in the sale of M. du C. held in Paris on
taken up with his decorative commissions, religious and
2nd May 1791, No.111, T. 18 po. x ll po. (i.e. approximately
mythological pictures, tapestry cartoons and the running48.6
of aby 29.7 cm)
huge studio.
As already noted, the painting in London does not include
He had, however, breathed new life into the genre and laid
the ledge which appears in the engraving. Such ledges were
the foundations of a highly successful portrait type, which was
used by Champaigne in a number of paintings, such as the
to continue until the end of the seventeenth century. Yet por-
Moses in the Hermitage, Leningrad, and in portraits from the
traits like these pastels have no real equivalent, either before or
1640s and 1650s. In another departure from what can be
after Vouet: neither Le Brun, nor Nanteuil, nor Vivien, nor
observed in the London painting, Morin has given the book
anyone else took up the formula, which derived ultimately
held by Saint Paul an additional rib on its spine. Also, the
from Caravaggism, and which may be summarised in the con- bottom of the cross embossed on the book cover is at the level
temporary phrase: 'crever l'&ran'.
of the third rib in the painting and the fourth rib in the engra
ing. In the engraving, moreover, the figure of St Paul is give
more space, his beard is somewhat fuller below the chin, the
structure of the drapery is more complex, and the area be
ween the beard and the left hand has been altered. Given these
19 See JEAN GUIFFREY and PIERRE MARCEL: Inventaire general des dessins du Mus&e
compositional variations, a thought that Morin also added the
du Louvre, Ecole Frannaise, Vol. IX, Paris [1921], p.96, No.9387, repr. p.97.
Alain Merot, in the course of his work on Le Sueur, had already linked this
ledge for his own structural purposes does not at first se
drawing with Vouet. The Portrait of a woman, Inv.33655, attributed to Claude implausible.
Mellan, ought to be put into the context of Simon Vouet's Court portraits, as
should the Portrait of a man in a turban, in the Nationalmuseum Stockholm, NM
2426/1863. This drawing, bought by Tessin as a Vouet, is weak, but is cer- 1 Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris July-August 1972], p.51.
tainly a copy of a Vouet pastel: see PER BJURSTR6M: French drawings: sixteenth and 2 Morin, who studied painting with Philippe de Champaigne, had a conside
seventeenth centuries, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm [1976], No.750, repr. among able reputation as an engraver, reproducing works by Chfiampaigne as well
the anonymous drawings. by Van Dyck, Susterman, Raphael and Titian. The date of his death, 6thJu
20 G. BRIERE and M. LAMY: 'Inventaire du logis de Simon Vouet dans la Grande 1650, establishes an important terminus for dating paintings by Philippe
Galerie du Louvre (1639 et 1640)', Fidiration des Sociitis Historiques et Archiolo- Champaigne.
giques de Paris et de l'lle de France, Mimoires, III [1953], pp.117-72. 3 A St Paul in the Doncour sale (Paris, 26th November' 832, No.16, toile, 73
21 A portrait of the Marechal d'Effiat, attributed to Simon Vouet, appeared in x 31 po., i.e. 197.5 by 83.8 cm) is postulated as the picture from the Cayla
the exhibition at Tours in 1890. See G. BRIERE and M. LAMY, op. cit., p.l10, sale; however, the dimensions would seem to indicate that they are not
note 1. same.

22 Le comte de COSNAC: Les richesses du palais Mazarin, Paris [1885], 2nd ed.,
4 B. DORIVAL: Philippe de Champaigne, 2 Vols., Paris [19761
pp.287, 290, 299 and 338. St Paul, no.290, p. 151.

693

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 45. Saint Paul, by Philippe de Champaigne. 49 by 38.8 cm. (With Trafalgar Galleries, London).

46. Saint Peter, by Jean Morin, after Philippe de 47. Saint Paul, by Jean Morin, after Philippe de 48. St James Major, by Philippe de Champaigne. 61 by 52 cm.
Champaigne. Engraving. (British Museum). Champaigne. Engraving. (British Museum). (Present whereabouts unknown).

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 SHORTER NOTICES

The dimensions of the London by N. canvas

Bazin,are 49 by
1702, 38.8 cm.
is reproduce
(These would preclude its being the
This St painting in the
James Major M. du
suggests C
the
sale of 1791, which was smaller). This it
of which painting
formed entered the
a part. Whi
New York Historical Society Peterwith and
the St Paul would
accession haveof
number b
1867.102 from the Collection of Thomas
there J. Bryan.
is not sufficient It thent
evidence
passed through a sale at Sotheby's, Newby
reflected York, on 9th
Morin's Octobe
engraving
1980, lot 93. The companion Saint
pairingPeter
of was
thesenot a part
two of th
pictures i
Historical Society's collection.
Galle' supports the argument t
In Morin's engraving of Saintpair. Peter (Fig.46) the figure
The London
clutches two keys in his left hand andSt Paul raises
is in quite goodhis
condition. The model- hand in
right
ling is bold
rhetorical gesture.5 A painting of and free
Saintin such areas as the hands was
Peter and is delicate
also in th
1791 inventory of the church and subtleof in thethe
renderingMadeleine-en-la-Cite.
of the face. Philippe de Cham-
paigne's
Other paintings of the subject debt to Flemish through
passed painting is obvious, andseveral
reminds one sales in
immediately of Rubens'scontaining
the nineteenth century. An engraving Apostolado now in the Prado;bothhowever, of these
figures placed within an arch there
andis a gentle quality about his
under thesubjects dove
and a much lower
of the Holy
Ghost bears the name 'C. Galle' on
key to the the
palette, which is bottom right.
reminiscent of Van Dyck. The most Here, a
significant stylistic
in the Morin engraving, the figures source for
are such a paintingbehind
placed as the St Paul is a ledge.6
This engraving was probably the softer colour,from
made the classical restraint
theandMorin the simplicity ofexamples
Nicolasthe
as indicated by the four ribs on Poussin. The
book Portrait of Charles Coiffier,
held by now in the
Saint Paul. As
Dorival notes, the compositionsLouvre,
ofwhich the is signed 'Ph Champaigne'saints
separate and dated 1650, were also
engraved by Gilbert Filloeul,provides
in an appropriate comparison
reverse; by for the figural type andBazin, no
Nicolas
in reverse; and by an anonymousdating for thisartist
painting of St Paul.
close Perhaps the
to companion
the St Galles.
Two other compositions may have
Peter will also appear anow bearing
that these compositionson this prob-
are known:
lem. An Ecce Homo, known only it wouldinhelp tothe engraving
provide some answers to the perplexingby com- Morin,7
positional
shows Christ in the typical pose of problems
the raised here.
Man of Sorrows, wear-
ing a crown of thorns, a noose about His neck, ropes about His
wrists and holding a whipping cane. He is placed behind a
13Gazette des Beaux-Arts,
ledge on which the title is engraved in the loc. centre,
cit., p.47, No.73. The sale history is given as
'Champaigne
Burtin
Pin.' on the left and 'Morin scul.' onsale, the
Brussels,right.
21st July 1819; Burtin sale, Brussels,
Christ's left 4th Novem
hand
1841; van Hammel sale, Brussels, 25th-26th April 1844; Max Heim s
placed on and over the ledge, and
Brussels, the
16th-23rd Marchend of
1899, No.27; sale,the cane
Paris, 15th May 1911;cast
Beurde
strong shadows upon it. The sale,
presumed companion to this
Paris, 6th-7th May 1920. Inscriptions of 'Champaigne pinx' on the los
left
Ecce Homo is a painting of the Mater
Bazin sculp. Dolorosa
C. P. Reg Mariette in appear
excud' on the right the Musee
at the bottom. At
bottom centre,
Municipal, Metz.8 The sorrowing in the position where
Virgin, with one findshands
the ledge in the engravings of
tightly
Peter and St Paul, appears the title, 'St. Jacques le majeur Ap6tre', followed by
clasped, looks down and to thefour-line
left. She is also placed behind a
text (not given by Dorival and illegible in the illustration).
stone ledge. Because of the close similarities of these composi-
tions, we can assume with some assurance that the ledge in the
engraved Ecce Homo is not a device added by Morin and that
the painting itself was closely followed. Curiously, Morin'
engraving of this Mater Dolorosa omits this ledge.9
A painting of St James Major (Fig.48),
Notes which
on some French appeared
seventeenth in a
century
Paris sale in 1979, also resembles the London St Paul.10 Th
drawings:
sale catalogue equates the painting Saint-Igny,
with Vignon,
Dorival Mellin,
No.124, but
judging from the photographs (Dorival
Millet and othersNo.124 and the sale
catalogue), certain passages do not correspond - most par-
ticularly the garments and the contours ofStJames's face. The
BY PIERRE ROSENBERG
dimensions of the two catalogue entries are given as th
same.11 A copy of the painting does existFrench
SEVENTEENTH-century in the Musee
drawings de
have been th
Beaux-Arts, Orleans.12 A reversed engraving of this painting,
relations of the great revival of interest in drawings ove
last ten years. A glance at Master Drawings or simply
through the list of recent exhibitions at the Cabinet
Dessins in the Louvre, will confirm this statement. Of co
the drawings of Callot and Claude, of Poussin and Ni
Mignard have been seriously studied; yesterday Le B
s This engraving and that of St Paul are not reproduced in full in DORIVAL, op. today Pierre Mignard, Le Sueur, La Hyre, Stella and
cit. [1976], Vol.II, p.456, Nos.290 and 291. The ledges have been cropped from are being thoroughly worked on and will soon have their
the illustrations.
6 Gazette des Beaux-Arts, loc. cit., p.52, No.82 bis. monographs. Yet these large-scale works are so few,
7 DORIVAL, op. cit., [1976], Vol.II, No.259, p.141 and p.450. articles on this or that specific point, that I think it is w
8 Ibid., No.64, p.43 and p.410, 76 cm by 52 cm. alerting both the specialist and the amateur to four
9 Gazette des Beaux-Arts, lot. cit., p.30, No.27. publications which might have passed unnoticed, wh
10 Sale, Palais d'Orsay, Paris, 14th December 1979, Lot. 25. DORIVAL, op. cit.,
their different ways, modify and clarify our ideas about c
[ 19761, Vol. 11, No.124, p.70 and p.421. The sale history is: Burton sale, Brus-
aspects of this various and still little known period of Fr
sels, 21st July 1819, No.34, T. 28 po. 3 q. X 25 po. 3 q.; Burton sale, Brussels, art.
4th November 1841, No.13, T. 61 by 52 cm; van Hamel sale, Brussels, 25th-
26thJuly 1844, No.21, no dimensions; Paris, 15th May 1911, No.7, T. 60 by 50 At the end of 1981, there was an exhibition in Miinster of a
cm as St John the Baptist; Beurdeley sale, Paris, 6th-7th May 1920, No.142, T. collection of drawings, all previously unpublished.1 Th
60 by 50 cm, as an Apostle; Collection Marcus; Galerie Heim; exported to the
U.S.A. in 1960.
author of the richly illustrated catalogue, Reinhart Schleier
11 The impression that two paintings are involved here could be a factor of
different states of preservation of the same painting revealed in separate
photographs. 1 Neue Zeichnungen alter Meister. Entdeckungen aus einer Barocksammlung, West
12 DORIVAL, op. cit., Vol.II, No.1687, p.303 and p.486, 57 by 49 cm. filisches Museumsamt Miinster [1981].

694

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