Notice de l'oeuvre :
After having been introduced to the art of painting in his hometown, Troyes, Nicolas Mignard trained at the studio of Simon Vouet in Paris before completing his training at Fontainebleau. Archival documents demonstrate that he moved to Avignon in 1632, and it was in the Papal city that he received his first commissions, amongst which a series of paintings on the history of Theagenes and Chariclea for the gallery that Paul Fortia de Montréal had just built in his private mansion. Fortia, a captain of the Royal Navy, was a friend of Cardinal Alphonse de Richelieu, Archbishop of Lyon (1582-1653). According to Félibien, the young painter was introduced by Paul Fortia to the Cardinal during a visit of the latter to Avignon. The Cardinal then encouraged Mignard to join his entourage when he left for Rome as ambassador of France in 1635. In the eternal city Mignard resided at Farnese Palace, the head office of the French embassy. The art of the Palace — and especially the decor of the Carracci Gallery that Mignard reproduced in some of his engravings — influenced significantly the development of his artistic career.
From 1637 we find Mignard in Avignon, where he married the daughter of a court tennis teacher. He pursued his career in the Papal city until 1660 working for religious institutions and members of the aristocracy. In 1657 he welcomed his brother Pierre (1612-1695) and obtained some local commissions for him. In 1660, following the visit of Louis XIV to the region, Mazarin — who would have already met Mignard during his stay as vice-legate in Avignon in 1634-1636 — encouraged the painter to move to Paris, where he created numerous portraits, amongst which multiple effigies of the King. Mazarin, Louis II de Bourbon and the Earl of Soissons were all similarly portrayed by the painter. In the French capital Mignard’s career grew rapidly within the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. He joined the Academy on 3 March 1663 as counsellor and was promoted to director on 26 April 1664. On 25 September 1666 he became one of the four education officers, ultimately reaching the apogee of his academic career. Overwhelmed by a remarkable amount of work, Nicolas Mignard died in 1668. At the time he was working on the artistic decoration of the King’s apartment in the Palais des Tuileries.
Even though the genre of portraiture definitely played a vital role in the career of Nicolas Mignard, it still remains amongst the less known painterly activities of the artist. In 1931 Adrien Marcel counted over forty effigies of male and female subjects, which were identified thanks to archival references and etchings, but he could only locate a few of them, most of which dated back to his Parisian period. According to Antoine Schnapper only the attribution of Vice-Legate Federico Sforza shows the city of Avignon to the blessed Pierre de Luxembourg (ill. 3) is of “completely certain” attribution. This painting, dated 1641, is particularly interesting since it exemplifies the art of the portraitist at the beginning of his career in Avignon. Schnapper, however, failed to identify other important effigies by the artist, amongst which his own Self Portrait (ill. 4) that Adrien Marcel rightly attributed to the painter and exhibited in 1997.
Two effigies executed during the Avignon period of the artist have recently been added to his œuvre. The portrait displaying Pierre-François de Tonduti de Saint-Léger (1583-1669) (ill. 1) was identified thanks to a print by François de Poilly.
Many members of the family of Pierre François de Tonduti de Saint-Léger became officers of the University of Avignon during the 17th century. Pierre was conferred the title of head of the University in 1642 and later, in 1658, of general magistrate of the legation of Avignon. The portrait could have been commissioned to Mignard in commemoration of this achievement.
The figure stands against a neutral background. His bust is portrayed in a three-quarter view and is turned towards the right. The painting emphasises the psychology of the sitter who is soberly dressed according to the fashion of the time. The rendering of forms and the treatment of light and shade that give volume to the figure is typical of Nicolas Mignard’s painting technique between the end of the 1650s and the beginning of the following decade. Similarly typical of Mignard’s technique is the delicate rendering of Gabriel Teste’s hair.
We find once again this pose in The Portrait of Scipion du Roure (1628- 1696) (ill. 2), painted in 1658 when the sitter was only thirty years old. Scipion du Roure was a member of an important family from Provence who notably bought some land in Camargue. The young man seems proud of his status. As in the portrait of Tonduti, which was undoubtedly painted by the same hand, the sitter is placed against a neutral background; in this painting it is also possible to detect the same delicate treatment of the figure’s face and hair. The red ribbon and strip illuminate this portrait of a young man with a vivacity that is surely missing from that of the magistrate from Avignon. With these portraits Mignard affirmed his status as one of the most talented portraitists working in the first half of the 17th century.
The remarkable quality of our portrait, the rendering of the sitter’s complexion obtained thanks to the superimposition of layers of white, beige and rose paint, and the psychological depth of his facial expression could evoke the art of Philippe de Champaigne, whose name is written on the piece of paper that is glued to the back of our painting. Nevertheless, this painting’s materiality and, more specifically, the rendering of the sitter’s coat with free and fluid black brushstrokes, are distinguishing features of the portraits that Nicolas Mignard created while he was working in Avignon.
The composition of our painting differs slightly from that of the two previous effigies and so does the lighting. The sitter here is shown almost facing the picture plane and the lighting was used more uniformly by the artist for the depiction of the face. The palette is limited, just like in the portrait of Tonduti, and the physiognomy of the sitter is rendered meticulously in a manner that is reminiscent of the representation of the magistrate. This mature man attracts the viewer’s attention with his candid gaze. The rendering of Gabriel Teste’s neck, beard and hair suggests that our painting is earlier than the above-mentioned portraits. It is also reminiscent of the representation of Federico Sforza, whose portrait is dated 1641.
The dimensions of Vice-Legate Federico Sforza shows the city of Avignon to the blessed Pierre de Luxembourg (ill. 3) are exceptional because they belong to an ex-voto in the format of an altarpiece. The face of the vice-legate, with its honest and direct gaze, crystallises the elements which are typical of Nicolas Mignard’s painting style. Produced in order to honour a vow made by the sitter in 1641 after an outbreak of plague, the painting remained on display in the Church of the Celestins in Avignon until the Revolution. The treatment of certain details of the face is almost identical to that of our portrait, particularly the way in which he rendered the eyes through small flecks of white paint on the irises that enable the inferior eyelids to appear realistically humid. The age of the sitter, thirty-eight, justifies the smooth rendering of the skin.
The delicacy of the depiction of the hair and the emphasis put on the psychology of the sitter were distinguishing features in the portraits painted by Nicolas Mignard in Avignon. The eyes — blue in the portrait of Federico Sforza (ill. 3), in his Self Portrait (ill. 4) and in our painting — with the irides encircled by a black brushstroke, are painted with precision. The similarities in the treatment of paint in the artist’s Self Portrait and in our painting are visible despite the thick layers of varnish which seal the paint on both these canvases. The white impastos on the cheeks are visible in both portraits. Differently from what was argued in a 1997 publication, the profession of the sitter in his Self Portrait is clearly hinted at in the painting: indeed, it is possible to discern a palette in the bottom right corner of the composition. Mignard’s Self Portrait similarly displays the artist’s interest in the kaleidoscopic properties of paint, which is exemplified by his use of a variety of colours that he superimposed in order to depict different complexions.
An inscription from the 19th century (ill. 5) that was glued to the back of our portrait provides us with precious information in regards to the sitter. It identifies him as Gabriel Teste, son of Jean, who was born in Pernes on 14 May 1588 and who died in Avignon on 14 September 1658. A black wax seal showing the coat of arms of the Teste family informs us that the painting remained in the hands of the sitter’s progeny at least until the 19th century.
Jean Teste, born in a Piedmontese family which moved to Pernes-les-Fontaines (Vaucluse) in the 15th century, worked as a solicitor in Pernes from 1598 until 1610. His son Gabriel was the first of a long list of eminent jurists and registered professors. Gabriel’s son, Claude, was the first member of the family to become head of the University of Avignon.
The inscription indicates the wedding date of Gabriel Teste, 20 September 1612, of which we found further evidence in the registers of the Parish Saint-Agricol d’Avignon (which was also the parish of Mignard’s family). The parochial registers of Saint-Agricol indicate that Gabriel Teste was buried at the Église des Cordeliers in Avignon. Our sitter obtained the title of doctor of law on 29 April 1611. His appointment testifies to his prominent status in the University as well as in the city. It is interesting to notice that within this prestigious university circle he could have met another of Mignard’s sitters, Pierre-François de Tonduti de Saint-Léger.
The evidence suggests that Teste established himself solidly in the Parish of Saint-Agricol d’Avignon. However, the private mansion that bears the name of this family today (sis 9 and 11, Rue de la Croix), was bought by François-Joseph de Teste (1721-1802) only after 1740. This building remained in the possession of the family until the mid-19th century, when it actually belonged to Jules François Catelin and César de Teste, both lawyers. Jules Teste, who died on 10 May 1842, was the administrator of the Foundation Calvet, to which he donated some paintings attributed to Vernet and to which his brother gifted some papers, manuscripts and etchings on the history of Avignon (today in the library of Ceccano). On the other hand, the private mansion that belonged to Antoine Joseph de Teste, the last head of the University of Avignon, was seized during the Revolution. An inventory made on 28 August 1793 mentions the painting in multiple instances but unfortunately it does not provide any further information in this regard.
The discovery of this painting has made a remarkable contribution to our understanding of the evolution of Nicolas Mignard’s career as a portraitist. It has enabled us to get precious insights into his clientele, which included some of the most renowned intellectuals and jurists of the Papal city. It has also provided rare evidence for his work before his arrival at the Court in 1660 and has confirmed his remarkable reputation as portraitist in the mid-17th century.
Jane MacAvock
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