Description
Claude BAILLEUL (mentioned between 1690 and 1718). Portrait of Sébastien Le Prestre, marshal of Vauban. Original canvas and frame. Inscriptions on the reverse: "Grand Condé" / "Mme Pernot rue des chanoines n° 1". 41 × 32.5 cm. (Old restorations, small lacks). Our painting is a ricordo of the portrait of Marshal de Vauban painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud, commissioned on the occasion of his accession to the marshalate in 1703 (private collection. See A. James-Sarazin, Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743), t. 2: Le Catalogue raisonné, Dijon, 2016, n° P.895, repr.). Recorded the following year (1704) in the artist's account books for 500 livres, a knee-length size, the original portrait painted with the help of his collaborator Bailleul for the habit, was not completed and delivered until 1705, which allowed Rigaud to update the canvas, as he added the blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, of which Vauban had just been knighted by the king in 1705. The fleurdelysed baton indicating the marshal's office and the blue ribbon appear on our version, which can therefore be dated 1705 or later. Very meticulous, diligent and not forgetting any detail (for example, the stitches on the bottom of the leotard), this ricordo is most certainly made by a collaborator of Rigaud. The account books mention that in 1705, Bailleul was commissioned to make two replicas of the marshal's portrait for the total sum of 100 livres. It is difficult to determine which format was adopted for each of these replicas. However, it is not impossible that one of them corresponds to our painting, whose dimensions are in line with those of other known ricordi of portraits by Rigaud, either from his workshop or autographed (see for example A. James-Sarasin, n° P.256, n° *P.310, n° P.341). The destination of these ricordi could be of two kinds: some were intended to remain in Rigaud's studio collection, in order to preserve the memory of a composition that could be used again in its attitude and dress for future clients; others were intended more for sale. In the case of Vauban, the figure was sufficiently important for some to wish to acquire his image in reduction, but the composition in which Rigaud portrayed him was also so successful that it was taken up again for many officers such as the marshal of Montrevel (1711, A. James-Sarasin, no. P.1202,), the marquis of Acigné (1721, A. James-Sarasin, no. P.1375), Patricio Laules (1721, A. James-Sarasin, n° P.1372) and by reversing the figure, with another background, for the marquis de Belle-Isle (1713-1714/1741-1742, A. James-Sarasin, n° P.1259). We thank Ariane James-Sarasin for her help in the attribution and her precious help in the writing of this note.
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Claude BAILLEUL (mentioned between 1690 and 1718). Portrait of Sébastien Le Prestre, marshal of Vauban. Original canvas and frame. Inscriptions on the reverse: "Grand Condé" / "Mme Pernot rue des chanoines n° 1". 41 × 32.5 cm. (Old restorations, small lacks). Our painting is a ricordo of the portrait of Marshal de Vauban painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud, commissioned on the occasion of his accession to the marshalate in 1703 (private collection. See A. James-Sarazin, Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743), t. 2: Le Catalogue raisonné, Dijon, 2016, n° P.895, repr.). Recorded the following year (1704) in the artist's account books for 500 livres, a knee-length size, the original portrait painted with the help of his collaborator Bailleul for the habit, was not completed and delivered until 1705, which allowed Rigaud to update the canvas, as he added the blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, of which Vauban had just been knighted by the king in 1705. The fleurdelysed baton indicating the marshal's office and the blue ribbon appear on our version, which can therefore be dated 1705 or later. Very meticulous, diligent and not forgetting any detail (for example, the stitches on the bottom of the leotard), this ricordo is most certainly made by a collaborator of Rigaud. The account books mention that in 1705, Bailleul was commissioned to make two replicas of the marshal's portrait for the total sum of 100 livres. It is difficult to determine which format was adopted for each of these replicas. However, it is not impossible that one of them corresponds to our painting, whose dimensions are in line with those of other known ricordi of portraits by Rigaud, either from his workshop or autographed (see for example A. James-Sarasin, n° P.256, n° *P.310, n° P.341). The destination of these ricordi could be of two kinds: some were intended to remain in Rigaud's studio collection, in order to preserve the memory of a composition that could be used again in its attitude and dress for future clients; others were intended more for sale. In the case of Vauban, the figure was sufficiently important for some to wish to acquire his image in reduction, but the composition in which Rigaud portrayed him was also so successful that it was taken up again for many officers such as the marshal of Montrevel (1711, A. James-Sarasin, no. P.1202,), the marquis of Acigné (1721, A. James-Sarasin, no. P.1375), Patricio Laules (1721, A. James-Sarasin, n° P.1372) and by reversing the figure, with another background, for the marquis de Belle-Isle (1713-1714/1741-1742, A. James-Sarasin, n° P.1259). We thank Ariane James-Sarasin for her help in the attribution and her precious help in the writing of this note.
