CHARLES ERRARD | An allegory in honour of Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Acquis à Bordeaux, commerce d'art, 1976

Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Bellori, l'idea del Bello, 2000, chap. XVIII, n°14-I (notice par J.-C. Boyer) ;
Rennes, 2012, n°46 (notice par Emmanuel Coquery);
Sceaux, 2013 (sans catalogue)

C. von Heineken, Dictionnaire des artistes dont nous avons des estampes..., vol. IV, Leipzig, 1790, p.310 ; 
K. Donahue, "Bellori", Dizionario biografico degli italiani, Rome, 1965, p.785 ;
E. Coquery, Charles Errard ca. 1601-1689 La Noblesse du Décor, Paris, 2013, D. 345, reprod. p.209

Window mounted and laid down, a section of the backing sheet has been torn on the verso to reveal the back of the drawing, where you can see the sheet has been reddened. Overall in good condition. There is some light brown staining throughout the sheet which is barely visible. Most noticeable at the lower section. Medium remains strong and vibrant. Sold unframed.
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Lively and energetic, this pen and brown ink composition, indented and reddened on the verso for transfer, is the preparatory drawing for the frontispiece dedicated to Jean Baptiste Colbert, engraved by François Andriot for Gian Pietro Bellori’s Vite dei Pittori, Scultori e Architetti, published in 1672 (fig. 1).

Errard chose a strong and traditional concept for this dedicatory frontispiece, illustrating a winged female figure holding a shield with the coat of arms of Colbert.  The spirited application of ink resonates throughout the drawing, uniting the figure’s drapery with the ruched curtain that makes up the background of the composition. 

Pierre Jean Mariette attributed the Adrien sheet to Jean Baptiste Corneille, an error that was perpetuated until relatively recent times, and which is discussed in detail by Emmanuel Coquery, both in his entry for the present drawing in the Rennes exhibition catalogue, and in his subsequent monograph on Charles Errard, published in 2013 (see Literature).  There can, however, be no doubt that the Adrien drawing is in fact the study by Errard for the engraving by Andriot.