NICOLAS LAGNEAU | PORTRAIT OF A BEARDED MAN

Paul-Gabirel-Jules Niel (1800-1872), Paris (L.1944),

his sale, Paris, Drouot, 18-19 March 1873, possibly in lot 27 (as Quesnel);

Guichardot, his sale, Paris, Drouot, 7-10 July 1875, lot 193;

bears unidentified collector's mark (CP) verso;

Marquis Charles-Philippe de Chennevières (1820-1899), Paris (L.2073),

his sale, Paris, Roblin, 4-7 April 1900, lot 257 (as a portrait of Jean Pierre Acarie),

purchased at the above sale by the grandfather of the late owner

P. de Chennevières, 'Une Collection de dessins d'artistes français', L'Artiste, 1894-97, p. 261;

N. Garnier-Pelle, Les Lagneau de Chantilly, exh. cat., Chantilly, Musée Condé, 2005-6, p. 28 (as a copy);

L.-A. Prat, with L. Lhinares, La collection Chennevières, Quatre siècles de dessins français, Paris 2007, pp. 254-255, no. 129

This portrait of a bearded man, his brow furrowed with wrinkles, his eyes creased with lines and his gaze inquisitive, is so descriptive in its depiction of age and so characterful in its portrayal of the sitter. Nicolas Lagneau is an artist about whom we know very little, in terms of his origins or artistic itinerary, but whose portraits reveal a truthfulness, often showing the arduous country life his subjects must have led, that gives us great insight into Lagneau as a draughtsman.

The technique applied in the present portrait, and adopted throughout most of his portraiture, is a combination of black and red chalk and stumping, the black chalk being used mainly to build up form and the red chalk employed to bring out flesh tints on his sitters' faces, often to highlight the process of ageing. To create the sfumato effect, he has used his thumb to rub the chalk, seen here in the man’s garments and the ends of his beard.

The arrival of Lagneau’s portraits saw a marked break with tradition in France, moving away from the delicately refined and formal portraiture of François Clouet, towards a more naturalistic approach that would later sweep through the Northern Netherlands.

For another portrait by Lagneau, see the following lot in this sale.