Theodor Matham

Anonymous sale, Aguttes, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 20 June 2006, lot 33 (as Attributed to Theodor Dirck Matham).

This view of the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the rare seventeenth century depictions of this monument, symbol of the divine right of the monarchy. Equally rare are landscapes and views of Paris by Theodor Matham, who was nevertheless the first to represent the Île Saint-Louis in the seventeenth century. Originally Dutch, Matham studied engraving with his father before travelling to Paris in 1627 then to Rome, from 1631. He probably painted this view of the Sainte-Chapelle during his time in Paris.

Rising up in the centre in all its grandeur, at the feet of the building we can see a multitude of colourful figures and scenes from daily life, animating the composition and bringing to mind coeval Dutch genre scenes. The fine detail and precision of the brushstroke used to accurately describe the architectural decoration recalls the artist’s early training in engraving. Painted on copper, this majestic composition wonderfully captures the majestic silhouette of the Sainte Chapelle; it is also a valuable record of the construction and rearrangement of urban space around the Sainte Chapellein the mid-seventeenth century. Particularly worth noting is the haberdashery market, known as such because of the small shops there, directly connected to the King’s apartments. It is troubling to observe that here only one part of the market has survived: the broken columns suggest that this view was painted after the fire of 1630 which gravely damaged the Sainte-Chapelle; but in this case, Matham should not have shown the spire, which was destroyed in the blaze.