Attributed to Benjamin Foulon
A Gentleman, wearing black stripe-patterned doublet, c. 1570-5
Watercolour on vellum
Oval, 2 in. (55 mm) high
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com Although it has not been possible to securely identify the sitter in this portrait, he likely represents a member of...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
Although it has not been possible to securely identify the sitter in this portrait, he likely represents a member of the court of the French king, Charles IX. His velvet bonnet emulates the style worn by the king in his portrait dated 1572.[1]
Foulon was born in or after 1551, his parents Abel Foulon and Catherine Clouet, sister of François Clouet, being wed on 5 November 1550.[4] When François Clouet died in 1572, Foulon would have been in his early twenties, with a long solo career ahead of him. His familial links to Clouet may have been a reassuring draw for patrons, such as the man portrayed here, his clothing suggesting a commission date while Foulon was still in his uncle’s studio or shortly after his death. The close observation of the sitter’s lively features in this portrait suggest a direct commission and ad vivum portrait, not a copy. Foulon’s close link with François Clouet’s technique are easily discernable here, including a strong affinity with the contemporary crayons – portraits drawn in charcoal, red and white chalk on paper. Nevertheless, there are also marked differences, most noticeably in the less subtle and more linear rendering of the features. The modelling of the face is also paler, and the beard and buttons in particular are painted in a graphic manner, lacking the softness of Clouet’s touch. The final, idiosyncratic feature of Foulon’s work can be found in the sitter’s eyes, where the shape is round compared to Clouet’s more typical almond.
Foulon’s career can be documented from 1577, when he appears for the first time in the royal records, receiving an annual pension of 600 livres tournois from King Henri III.[5] Later in 1583, he is included in the list of the household officers of Catherine de’ Medici as peintre dedictes Majestés with similar wages. He was still employed by the king’s mother in 1588, waiting until 1601 for the queen’s debts to be paid.
Upon Catherine de’ Medici and Henri III’s deaths in 1589, he came into the employ of King Henri IV.[6] In 1592, he was paid 300 livres tournois in 1592 to travel to the army at Tours.[7] He is mentioned in the household officers list of Henri IV and Marie de’ Medici until 1611. Settling at Tours with his wife, Nicole Vatier or Vaquier, the couple baptised three of their children in the city (Claude, Isabelle and Marguerite between 1589 and 1592). Tours, nevertheless, proved too far from the court and Foulon moved back to Paris where he took up residence at his uncle François Clouet’s old house. Hence, his fourth child Elisabeth was probably born in Paris. Foulon’s infidelity is also apparent in the Parisian baptismal records of the time; he baptised a Pierre in 1604 with Françoise Nicolle, and a Françoise with Marie Michel. However, his wife Nicole’s name appears on their daughter Elisabeth’s marriage contract in 1612, suggesting that Foulon’s indiscretions occurred while his wife was still alive and he was presumably still married. He died between 27 November 1613 and 25 April 1614.[8]
Clouet’s fame, attached to a body of work synonymous with the theatricality of the Valois court, has overshadowed that of his contemporaries to an extent that it is only recently that knowledge about their careers has come to light. However, like his uncle, Foulon was commissioned by members of the royal court and prominent Parisian citizens. As with the newly discovered signed miniature by Jean Decourt, a signed crayon, depicting César de Vendôme, illegitimate son of Henri IV, now kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, provides a touchstone for his technique.[9] Like most limners trained in France, Foulon’s portrait miniatures relied on preparatory chalk drawings (unlike English miniaturists, who worked directly onto the vellum during a sitting). Some of Foulon’s miniatures, such as his portrait of Charles De Bourbon, Comte De Soissons (1566–1612), relate to extant drawings in his hand. Until a similar drawing emerges which relates to this miniature the sitter will remain nameless, if sartorially closely connected to the royal court.
[1] For an image of the king’s typical dress from this period see: François Clouet & François Dujardin, pendant with the Portrait of Charles IX & of Catherine de Medici, watercolour on vellum on card, gold & enamel, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Kunstkammer, 1601).
[2] Many works ascribed to Francois Clouet are undergoing re-examination, including the portraits in the locket in Vienna mentioned in the previous footnote. Although the author has not been able to examine these portraits at first hand, there are clear stylistic similarities with accepted portrait miniatures by Foulon, including the present miniature. A later portrait by Foulon of Charles De Bourbon, Comte De Soissons (1566–1612), c. 1590 was sold as part of the collection of the late Dr. Pohl-Ströher, Part III Sotheby’s, London, 5 December 2019, lot 203. This shows extremely similar techniques to the present work and the pair in Vienna.
[3] Journeymen were artists who had completed their apprenticeship; they could stay and work with the master who trained them. As artists they were paid daily, the word “journey” being derived from journée, meaning “day” in French.
[4] Zvereva, A. (2011) Portraits dessinés de la cour des Valois. Paris: Arthena, pp. 402-403.
[5] Bibliothèque nationale de France, Dupuy 852, f. 74, quoted in Scaillierez, C. (2004) Foulon, Benjamin. Allgemeines KunstlerLexikon. Vol. XLIII, pp. 83-84.
[6] Ibid.
[7] The details of these paintings are not known. He would have painted these portraits while following the army. Ulysse, R. (1876) ‘Quittances de peintres, sculpteurs et architectes français 1535–1711’, Nouvelles archives de l’art français. No. XXXII, pp.27-28. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12... [accessed 10 Nov. 2020]
[8] Scaillierez, (2004) Foulon, pp. 83-84.
[9] The drawing is signed “Fulonius fecit”.
Although it has not been possible to securely identify the sitter in this portrait, he likely represents a member of the court of the French king, Charles IX. His velvet bonnet emulates the style worn by the king in his portrait dated 1572.[1]
Most French, courtly portrait miniatures of this period have traditionally been ascribed to that titan of portraiture, François Clouet (c.1510–1572), portrait painter to the French kings since the 1540s.[2] As was common practice, archival records show that Clouet had at least two apprentices and several journeymen associated with his workshop, and the work of these artists is now beginning to be separated from those of their master.[3] Clouet’s nephew, Benjamin Foulon, was employed in his workshop to keep up with the demands made on his uncle and master. The pressure on Clouet must have been immense, as the Valois court required not only portrait miniatures but oil paintings, drawings, engravings and patterns for enamels.Foulon was born in or after 1551, his parents Abel Foulon and Catherine Clouet, sister of François Clouet, being wed on 5 November 1550.[4] When François Clouet died in 1572, Foulon would have been in his early twenties, with a long solo career ahead of him. His familial links to Clouet may have been a reassuring draw for patrons, such as the man portrayed here, his clothing suggesting a commission date while Foulon was still in his uncle’s studio or shortly after his death. The close observation of the sitter’s lively features in this portrait suggest a direct commission and ad vivum portrait, not a copy. Foulon’s close link with François Clouet’s technique are easily discernable here, including a strong affinity with the contemporary crayons – portraits drawn in charcoal, red and white chalk on paper. Nevertheless, there are also marked differences, most noticeably in the less subtle and more linear rendering of the features. The modelling of the face is also paler, and the beard and buttons in particular are painted in a graphic manner, lacking the softness of Clouet’s touch. The final, idiosyncratic feature of Foulon’s work can be found in the sitter’s eyes, where the shape is round compared to Clouet’s more typical almond.
Foulon’s career can be documented from 1577, when he appears for the first time in the royal records, receiving an annual pension of 600 livres tournois from King Henri III.[5] Later in 1583, he is included in the list of the household officers of Catherine de’ Medici as peintre dedictes Majestés with similar wages. He was still employed by the king’s mother in 1588, waiting until 1601 for the queen’s debts to be paid.
Upon Catherine de’ Medici and Henri III’s deaths in 1589, he came into the employ of King Henri IV.[6] In 1592, he was paid 300 livres tournois in 1592 to travel to the army at Tours.[7] He is mentioned in the household officers list of Henri IV and Marie de’ Medici until 1611. Settling at Tours with his wife, Nicole Vatier or Vaquier, the couple baptised three of their children in the city (Claude, Isabelle and Marguerite between 1589 and 1592). Tours, nevertheless, proved too far from the court and Foulon moved back to Paris where he took up residence at his uncle François Clouet’s old house. Hence, his fourth child Elisabeth was probably born in Paris. Foulon’s infidelity is also apparent in the Parisian baptismal records of the time; he baptised a Pierre in 1604 with Françoise Nicolle, and a Françoise with Marie Michel. However, his wife Nicole’s name appears on their daughter Elisabeth’s marriage contract in 1612, suggesting that Foulon’s indiscretions occurred while his wife was still alive and he was presumably still married. He died between 27 November 1613 and 25 April 1614.[8]
Clouet’s fame, attached to a body of work synonymous with the theatricality of the Valois court, has overshadowed that of his contemporaries to an extent that it is only recently that knowledge about their careers has come to light. However, like his uncle, Foulon was commissioned by members of the royal court and prominent Parisian citizens. As with the newly discovered signed miniature by Jean Decourt, a signed crayon, depicting César de Vendôme, illegitimate son of Henri IV, now kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, provides a touchstone for his technique.[9] Like most limners trained in France, Foulon’s portrait miniatures relied on preparatory chalk drawings (unlike English miniaturists, who worked directly onto the vellum during a sitting). Some of Foulon’s miniatures, such as his portrait of Charles De Bourbon, Comte De Soissons (1566–1612), relate to extant drawings in his hand. Until a similar drawing emerges which relates to this miniature the sitter will remain nameless, if sartorially closely connected to the royal court.
[1] For an image of the king’s typical dress from this period see: François Clouet & François Dujardin, pendant with the Portrait of Charles IX & of Catherine de Medici, watercolour on vellum on card, gold & enamel, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Kunstkammer, 1601).
[2] Many works ascribed to Francois Clouet are undergoing re-examination, including the portraits in the locket in Vienna mentioned in the previous footnote. Although the author has not been able to examine these portraits at first hand, there are clear stylistic similarities with accepted portrait miniatures by Foulon, including the present miniature. A later portrait by Foulon of Charles De Bourbon, Comte De Soissons (1566–1612), c. 1590 was sold as part of the collection of the late Dr. Pohl-Ströher, Part III Sotheby’s, London, 5 December 2019, lot 203. This shows extremely similar techniques to the present work and the pair in Vienna.
[3] Journeymen were artists who had completed their apprenticeship; they could stay and work with the master who trained them. As artists they were paid daily, the word “journey” being derived from journée, meaning “day” in French.
[4] Zvereva, A. (2011) Portraits dessinés de la cour des Valois. Paris: Arthena, pp. 402-403.
[5] Bibliothèque nationale de France, Dupuy 852, f. 74, quoted in Scaillierez, C. (2004) Foulon, Benjamin. Allgemeines KunstlerLexikon. Vol. XLIII, pp. 83-84.
[6] Ibid.
[7] The details of these paintings are not known. He would have painted these portraits while following the army. Ulysse, R. (1876) ‘Quittances de peintres, sculpteurs et architectes français 1535–1711’, Nouvelles archives de l’art français. No. XXXII, pp.27-28. Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12... [accessed 10 Nov. 2020]
[8] Scaillierez, (2004) Foulon, pp. 83-84.
[9] The drawing is signed “Fulonius fecit”.
Provenance
Collection of Madame X, Sotheby’s Paris, December 16 2004, lot 85;Collection of Matthew Rutenberg (1956-2019);
Private Collection, UK.
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