Page:Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers, volume 1.djvu/286

 seven lie was taken by an uncle to Paris, and there placed under tlie tuition of Jean Barth61emy, with whom he remained until he was fourteen years of age, when he returned to the soufli, and painted in fresco a ceiling in a chateau near Bordeaux. He then went to Toulouse, but met with so little encour- agement that he resolved to enlist. His military duties, however, proved so irksome to him that his commanding officer, who recognized his talent, gave him some liours' leave each day until his friends procured his discharge. Being then eighteen j-ears of age he went to Home, where he was forced to make copies of the works of Claude Lorrain, Andrea Sacchi, Bamboccio, and other artists then in vogue, in order to gain a livelihood ; but after a stay of three years, being a Protestant, he thought it expedient to quit Rome on account of the jealousy of an obscure painter named De Rieux, who threatened to denounce him as a heretic to the Holy Inquisition. On his way home he visited Venice, and soon after reaching Paris married Susanne Du Guernier, the sister of the miniature- painters of that name. There a brilliant success awaited him, for in 1643 he was selected to paint the " mai " offered annually to the cathedral of Notre-Dame by the Goldsmiths' Guild. The sub- ject chosen was the ' Martyrdom of St. Peter, and the picture, now in the Louvre, at once established for him a reputation which has been preserved almost intact to the present day. He was one of the twelve artists who, in 1648, founded the Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and was one of its rectors from 1655 until his death. In 1652 the troubles of the Fronde drove him to Sweden, where he became first painter to Queen Christina, whose portrait, painted by him and engraved by Nanteuil and Michel Lasne, remains the historic por- trait of the famous sovereign. Upon the conversion of the Queen to the Roman Catholic faith, and her consequent abdication in 1654, Bourdon returned to Paris, and, among other works, painted for the church of St. Benedict the ' Descent from the Cross,' now in the Leuvre, which was much admired. Family affairs calling him to Montpellier, he there painted, in 1659, for the cathedral church of St. Peter, an immense picture of the ' Fall of Simon Magus, which was severely criticised by a local painter named Samuel Boissiere. An affray ensued, and matters threatened to become serious, when Bourdon prudently left Montpellier. After his return to Paris he, in 1663, painted, with the fable of Phoebus and Phaeton, the nine compartments of the ceiling of the fine gallery of the Hotel de Bretonvilliers in the He St. Louis, a mansion which has now entirely disappeared. This was Bourdon's most important work, and it is fortunate for his renown that the decorations of the Hotel de Bretonvilliers have been handed down by the engravings of Friquet de Vaurose, one of liis favourite pupils. His last work was a ceiling in the Tuileries, representing the ' Deification of Hercules. ' Bourdon died a Calvinist in Paris on the 8th of May, 1671. He was endowed with wonderful fertility of imagination and facility of execution, but the quality of his work was very unequal, and his drawing often incorrect. He painted historical and genre subjects, portraits and landscapes, the last somewhat resembling those of Salvator Kosa. He has enjoyed a great reputation as a colourist, notwithstanding the somewhat vulgar preponderance in his pictures of reds and browns. The Louvre possesses drawings by him which are perhaps of even greater value than his paintings. They are 29 in number, and include the studies for the ' Martyrdom of St. Peter ' and the ' Descent from the Cross,' as well as the so-called portrait of himself, which he introduced into his picture of the ' Fall of Simon Magus.' The engravings of Bour- don, especially his ' Acts of Mercy,' are very fine, and will always bear witness to his great talent in etching, and his skill in the use of the graver. Robert-Dumesnil, in his ' Peintre-Graveur Fran- 9ais,' describes 44 plates, all of which are from his own designs. The following are the principal subjects :

The Acts of Mercy ; seven plates. Tlae Ketum of Jacob. Joseph's Dream. The Angelic Salutation. The Visitation. The Annunciation to the Shepherds. The Fhght into Egypt ; four different plates. The Holy Family with the Washerwoman. La Vierge a I'&uelle. La Vierge au rideau. The Repose in Egypt. The Return from Egypt. Landscapes ; twelve subjects. The following are the most important of Bour- don's works which are preserved in the public galleries of Europe : Amsterdam. Museum. The Marriage of St. Catharine. Bayeux. Museum. Queen Christina of Sweden. Cassel. Gallery. Soldier and Peasants playing Cards. „ „ An Old Man awakening a Com- rade. Copenhagen. Gallery. Laban carrjMng away his Idols. Florence. Uffizi. The Repose in Egypt. Grenoble. Museum. The Continence of Scipio. Hague. Museum. The Four Quarters of the World. Lille. Museum. The Saviour supported by Angels. Liverpool. Royal liist. A Bacchanalian Scene. London. A'a(. Gall. The Return of the Ark from Captivity. Madrid. Museo del St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Pardo. Lystra. Montpellier. Cathedral. The Fall of Simon Magus. „ Musee Fabre. The Descent from the Cross. „ „ The Discovery of the Body of St, Theresa. „ „ A Halt of Gipsies. „ „ A Landscape ; very large. „ ,, A Landscape with a River. „ „ Portrait of a Spaniard. „ „ Portrait of a General. Munich. Gallery. View in the Emirons of Rome. Naples. Gallery. Portrait of a Farnese Princess. Paris. louvre. The Martyrdom of St. Peter. „ „ The Descent from the Cross. „ „ Laban seeking his Idols. „ „ The Sacrifice of Noah. „ „ Solomou sacrificing to Idols. „ „ The Virgin and Child, with St. John. „ „ The Adoration of the Shepherds. „ „ The Repose in Egypt. „ „ The Presentation in the Temple. „ „ Christ blessing little Children. j, „ The Beheading of St. Protais. „ „ Julius Ciesar at the Tomb of Alexander. „ „ A Halt of Gipsies ; tico pictures. „ ,. The Beggars. „ Portrait of Himself. „ Portrait of Himself; the head only by Bourdon, the remainder by Rigaud. „ Portrait of Rene Descartes. „ Portrait, supposed to be that of Michel de Chamillart, Marquis de Cany. ({"""V/.Un Interior " 2a Case Coll.)