Claude Vignon (Tours, 1593 – Paris, 1670)
Portrait of a singer in doublet
Circa 1625
Oil on canvas (105 x 79 cm - Framed 120 x 94 cm)
Full details of the work (CLICK HERE)
The work has been the subject of a detailed study by Dr. Daniele Fiore (2019) (link to consult the document: https://issuu.com/theartadvisor/docs/claude_vignon )
We present this interesting portrait of a young singer, captured frontally while holding his score, elegantly dressed in a doublet in damask fabric and puffed sleeves, from which emerges a shirt with a soft collar, cinched at the waist by a sash, according to typical Renaissance fashion.
The portrayed shows himself with disheveled hair, as if he had just been struck by a gust of wind that ruffled his hair and folded the corner of the score sheet, thus revealing some letters in capital characters (the first, cruciform, perhaps a "F", the second, a "B" with a probable apical sign, the third a "C").
In this sense, the facial expression, with the mouth ajar in the act of taking the singing intonation and the gaze turned upwards, leaves doubt whether those eyes are looking for the perfect note, or cursing for the unexpected air current.
The intense gaze of the young man seems so lost in a "dreamy distance" that makes him fascinating, emphasized by the soft rendering of the light that defines the volumes of the face.
His pose is also curious, with his left hand held under his jacket, giving the sensation of a relaxed posture, as if the young man were improvising a song with his hand in his pocket and his right side resting with his elbow on a balustrade.
The analysis of the composition and style would allow us to associate the execution with the French Claude Vignon (Tours, 1593 – Paris, 1670), illustrating a subject typical of the figurative repertoire conceived by the great master, very close to the world of music.
In his portraits, Vignon knew how to modulate Caravaggesque chiaroscuro with the light colors favored by his fellow French artists who worked in Rome and Venice. The rich chromatic material, Vignon's distinctive feature, flows here into a quick and frayed brushstroke.
After studying in Paris with Jacob Bunel, one of the most famous masters of the reign of Henry IV, he moved to Rome to complete his training (circa 1610-1623) under the influence of Caravaggio and his followers, and distinguished himself for an eclectic style, characterized by bright colors, brushstrokes with a dense paste and a peculiar expressiveness, with a free and theatrical composition.
Based on this attribution, confirmed by a study dedicated to the painting by Dr. Daniele Fiore in 2019, the painting in question could go to recompose that "Triptych of Singers" that Claude Vignon would have executed in the twenties of the seventeenth century composed, in addition to the painting presented here, by two other canvases, one of which is currently in the Louvre in Paris (https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010066185 ) and the other passed at auction at Sotheby's in December 2008.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold complete with a pleasant golden frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and descriptive iconographic sheet.
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