English: Philippe de Champaigne (Brussels 1602 - 1674 Paris)

Portrait of Jérôme Bignon

Dated lower right on the ledge A°.1664.; inscribed on the reverse of the canvas Th. Bignon libelli supplicum Magister / et in magno Regis consilio præses

Oil on canvas

77,7 x 62,5 cm ; 30⅝ by 24⅝ in.

This fine portrait by Philippe de Champaigne of Jérôme Bignon, member of the Paris Parlement, was previously unknown except through the reversed print by François de Poilly, made the same year that the painting itself was produced (1664).

Son of Jérôme Bignon (1589-1656), Advocate General to the Paris Parlement, councillor of State and the King’s librarian, Jérôme II Bignon (1627-1697) inherited most of the roles undertaken by his father: he succeeded him as Advocate General to the Paris Parlement and was appointed to the King’s Library in 1656. However, as Master of the Library, his powers were limited by Colbert’s nomination of his own brother Louis to oversee the library. In any event, he had to relinquish the post in 1684 to Camille, son of the Marquis de Louvois, who was at the time only eight years old.

In 1656, Jérôme Bignon married Suzanne Phélypeaux, daughter of Louis I Phélypeaux de la Vrillière and Suzanne Talon, niece of Omer II Talon, who was also a member of the Parlement: Champaigne painted a magnificent portrait of him in 1649 (Washington, National Gallery of Art; Samuel H. Kress collection; inv. 1952.5.35). Champaigne also painted his own brother, Thierry Bignon (1632-1697), Parlement councillor, Master of Requests, President and later First President of the Great Council. This portrait, whose whereabouts are obscure, is also only known from an engraving made from it by Nicolas Pitau.

The present superb painting, which is in good condition, encapsulates everything about the art of the portraitist Philippe de Champaigne. The model is portrayed in his Parlement robes in this direct and candid image: Bignon looks out at the viewer with friendly intelligence. The portrait’s sobriety, its restrained palette of delicate and dark colours, and its detailed realism are among the most typically striking characteristics of Champaigne’s painting.

On the back of the relined canvas there is an old inscription, probably replicating the inscription originally found on the back of the painting, which reads as follows: ‘Th. Bignon libelli supplicum Magister / et in magno Regis consilio præses’. This makes reference to Thierry Bignon, Jérôme’s brother, partially reproducing the text on the Nicolas Pitau engraving and (erroneously) associating the present portrait with Thierry rather than his brother Jérôme.