Acquis par Armand-François-Marie, marquis de Biencourt (1773-1854), en 1823, Paris et Azay-le-Rideau ;

Collection des marquis de Biencourt, Azay-le-Rideau ;

Vendu par Charles-Marie-Christian, marquis de Biencourt (1826-1914) ;

Collection Léopold Benedict Hayum Goldschmidt (1830-1904) ;

Par descendance à sa fille, Claire Goldschmidt (1866-1930), épouse d'Ange André Pastré, comte Romain (1856-1926) ;

Par descendance à leur fille, Diane Pastré, comtesse de Vogüé (1888-1971), Commarin ;

Sa vente, Paris, Palais Galliéra, Me Couturier, 14 mars 1972, n° 177 (comme attribué à, adjugé 135 000 francs) ;

Vente anonyme ; Paris, Tajan, 14 décembre 2004, n° 39 (comme attribué à, adjugé 82 000 €) ;

Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris ;

Acquis auprès de cette dernière par les parents des actuels propriétaires en 2005 ;

Collection particulière, France

Louis Dimier, La Peinture française au XVIe siècle, Marseille, 1942, repr. pl. 25

Anne du Bois de Groer, Corneille de La Haye dit Corneille de Lyon, Paris, 1996, p. 200-201, n° 112

Among the abundant gallery of the most influential figures at the French court that Corneille de La Haye, better known as Corneille de Lyon, was asked to portray during his time in the service of the Dauphin Henri de France (the future Henri II), very few were ecclesiastics. This was despite the fact that the prelates, who often came from the kingdom's leading families, held important positions. Long before Cardinal de Richelieu, those whom historian Cédric Michon called ‘prelates of state’ were in charge of a wide range of affairs, with a predilection for domestic policy and diplomacy. At the time Corneille was working, they included Cardinals Louis de Bourbon, Jean de Lorraine (a favourite of François I), François de Tournon, Jean Du Bellay, Antoine Sanguin de Meudon (uncle of the Duchesse d'Étampes), Georges d'Armagnac, Georges II d'Amboise, Charles de Lorraine-Guise and others. Most of these prelates were painted by François Clouet, who was the royal family's portraitist, although some of these effigies are only known today thanks to drawings and collections of copies done in pencil. On the other hand, only two portraits of cardinals by Corneille are known today, to which we should probably add a third, representing Charles de Bourbon, of which a relatively clumsy replica has survived, but which is perfectly indicative of his style (private collection).

The other two portraits are of Robert, Cardinal de Lenoncourt (Dubois de Groër, no 113), and Odet de Coligny, Cardinal de Châtillon, whose features are well known from several portraits by Jean and François Clouet, and by Jean Decourt. Born into one of the most important families of the last Valois, nephew of the Connétable de Montmorency, Odet was offered the cardinal's hat at the age of sixteen on the occasion of the marriage of Catherine de Médicis and Henri II, even though he was not an ordained priest. Archbishop of Toulouse and Bishop of Beauvais, he was never consecrated and saw himself as a statesman rather than a man of the Church. A member of the Council as early as 1547, he was an accomplished courtier, a wit and an art lover. He advocated a reform of Catholic worship, but was the last of his family to openly convert to Protestantism. Henceforth renamed Count of Beauvais, Châtillon married Isabeau de Hauteville and remained an influential figure at court until the Third War of Religion forced him into exile in England. It was there that he died in 1571 as he was preparing to return to a peaceful France following the Edict of Saint-Germain.

For the portrait of Châtillon by Corneille as well as that of Lenoncourt, at least four versions are known, of varying quality and size. As is often the case, it is difficult to distinguish the original painted from life from the replicas produced in the studio, especially as many of the paintings have disappeared. Nevertheless, the quality of our painting is undeniably better than that of the other versions that have been located (Avignon, Musée Calvet; private collections).

In looking at the Clouet portraits of Odet de Coligny, it is possible to date our work to the very end of the 1540s, whereas, judging by Lenoncourt's age, Corneille appears to have painted him earlier, at the start of the decade. The use of much larger panels for Châtillon confirms this discrepancy, as do his clothes, which correspond to the fashion of the period around 1550. Several years therefore separate the portraits of the cardinals de Lenoncourt and de Châtillon, and these two iconographies, despite their similar settings, are by no means counterparts, even if some versions could have been found together in certain galleries of the most prominent figures at court.

Although Corneille often drew inspiration from the works of Clouet in order to respect the ‘official’ iconography of a model, here he preferred to create a new image. The cardinal's face is turned to the right, rather than to the left as in Clouet's work, and seen slightly more from the front. The model stares at the viewer instead of looking out of the frame, making the confrontation with the figure more intense and his expression more proud and determined. The portraitist shows himself to be a fine colourist, building his work upon the harmony of madder red and light green, broken only by the white of the collar and the reddish-brown of the hair. Often more summary in the execution of the clothes compared to the faces, the painter from Lyon endeavoured here to reproduce the complex pattern of the damask silk on the lapels of the coat. The delicacy of these designs, with their translucent glazes revealing the white preparation, contrasts with the powerful, thick lines of the piping around the edges.

We would like to thank Alexandra Zvereva for the writing of this catalogue entry (September 2020).