Friday, April 15, 2016

French paintings from the 17th century

Nicolas Tournier
Denial of Peter
ca. 1625-26
Prado

In response to the celebrity career of Caravaggio (1571-1610) French painters in Rome produced many dark-toned pictures during the first half of the 17th century.  The fashion extended back into France itself among native painters, but after a brief vogue these heavy shadows were incompatible with the preference for clarity and luminosity that traditionally characterized French art.

Nicolas Tournier
Christ carrying the Cross
1620s
image courtesy of Sotheby's

Nicolas Tournier
Christ carrying the Cross
ca. 1632
private collection

Nicolas Tournier
Crucifixion
ca. 1635
Louvre

Valentin de Boulogne
Soldiers playing cards and dice
ca. 1618-20
National Gallery of Art (U.S.)

Valentin de Boulogne
Four ages of man
1629
canvas
National Gallery, London

Valentin de Boulogne
Martyrdom of Saints Processus and Martinian
1629
Vatican Pinacoteca

Valentin de Boulogne
Revelers with Fortune Teller
1631
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

Louis Laguerre
Trompe l'oeil mural fragment
late 17th century
Victoria & Albert Museum 

Eustache Le Sueur
Alexander the Great and his doctor
1648-49
National Gallery, London

Eustache Le Sueur
St Paul preaching at Ephesus
1649
National Gallery, London

Eustache Le Sueur
Christ on the Cross with the Virgin and Saints
1643
National Gallery, London

Eustache Le Sueur
The Muse Urania
ca. 1652-55
Louvre

Eustache Le Sueur
The Muse Terpsichore
ca. 1652-55
Louvre