Louis-Nicolas van BLARENBERGHE (Lille 1716-Fontainebleau 1794)

Le repos champêtre Gouache, snuffbox. 5 x 8 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 2 December 1974, no. 71. Bibliography: M. Maillet-Chassagne and I. de Château-Thierry, Catalogue raisonné des oeuvres des Van Blarenberghe 1680-1826, Lille, 2004, no. 2-658-5, reproduced. THE VAN BLARENBERGHE The Blarenberghe, Flemish who became French when Lille became part of France, formed a veritable dynasty of painters specialising in miniatures, stretching from the second half of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century. Their history began around 1680 with Hendrick (1646-1712), a painter in Lille, who retained the mark of Flemish painting in his style and already enjoyed a solid local reputation. His son Jacques-Guillaume (1691-1742) continued his work, but the influence of French painting became more apparent. It was with Jacques-Guillaume's son Louis-Nicolas, and then the latter's son Henri-Joseph, that the Blarenberghe family reached their peak. Louis-Nicolas gained an excellent reputation as a battle painter during the War of the Austrian Succession, which earned him numerous commissions from soldiers sent to the region. The friendships he made allowed him to settle in Paris in 1751. Louis-Nicolas widened his clientele and his repertoire. The orders came from the great aristocracy, then from the court. His success is favoured by the great vogue of small format, snuffboxes and boxes of all kinds. He also fleshed out and diversified his subjects, favouring picturesque and narrative subjects of daily life: scenes of festivals, fairs, shows, parts of the countryside, French ports... He multiplies on the same picture, the scenes in the scene, diversifies the characters. His son Henri Joseph, who studied in Versailles in the workshop of the geographers, continues in this vein. After 1778, Louis-Nicolas devotes himself almost entirely to gouaches of larger formats, including the important commission of Louis XVI on the theme of battles of his grandfather Louis XV. When the Revolution broke out, Henri-Joseph was master of drawing royal children. The last generation was represented by his daughters, with less success. The Blarenberghe, combining virtuosity with an exceptional sense of narration, were considered to be true reporters of French society in the second half of the 18th century.