Sébastien Bourdon

Previously known only from an engraving, Virgin and Sleeping Child with St John the Baptist is an unpublished painting by Sébastien Bourdon and a discovery that can be added to the oeuvre of this emblematic seventeenth century French artist.  

In his catalogue devoted to Bourdon, Thuillier mentions a print after this painting by Michel Natalis. The composition of this engraving, reversed, is dated 1658 and is absolutely identical to our painting. Despite not having seen the painting, Thuillier dates it close to the date that permission was granted to make prints from it.

By this time, Bourdon had reached his maturity: he had travelled, experimented with different styles and experienced successes and failures. He settled in Paris and attended the Académie; many connoisseurs admired him and gave him commissions. His art became more austere – in Thuillier’s view, this was connected with his Protestantism. While landscapes began to have an increasingly important place in his work, especially under the influence of Nicolas Poussin’s works, Bourdon also painted several Holy Families, which seem to have been much in demand from connoisseurs. Many of the religious works painted by the artist during this period are lost, so this image provides valuable evidence of this aspect of Bourdon’s oeuvre.

This period also signalled the beginning of a formal transition which is subsequently evident in the artist’s work, tending more towards a stripped-down and rigorous severity. In this painting, the palette is reduced to the minimum but remains rich, while the gentle sensuality of the scene is still far removed from the hieratic severity of his later compositions and the landscape and architecture are simplified but still realistic.

This thoughtfully constructed painting gives Bourdon an opportunity to deploy the skills he had developed over the course of his career, with a glimpse of architecture, a glimpse of landscape and a charming scene of tender intimacy.