Pierre Duval Lecamus (1790-1854) Dinner in good company

Pierre DUVAL LECAMUS
(Lisieux 1790 - Saint-Cloud 1854)
Dinner in good company
Oil on canvas
H. 32.5 cm; L. 24.5 cm
circa 1820

Related works:
- Painting from the 1822 Salon, held at the Musée National de l'Éducation in Rouen, titled “L'Espièglerie” (“Mischief”).

A pupil of Claude Gautherot and Jacques-Louis David from 1808 onwards, Duval Lecamus was one of the leading exponents of genre scenes under the Restoration and the July Monarchy, exhibiting successfully without interruption at the Salons from 1817 to 1853, not only in Paris but also extensively in the provinces. His meticulous craftsmanship, inspired by the Nordic artists of the 17th century, perfectly matched the tastes of the Duchesse de Berry and the Duc d'Orléans (future Louis-Philippe), and places him in the same sphere as artists such as Boilly, Drolling, Grenier de Saint-Martin, Mallet, Roehn, Haudebourg-Lescot and Pingret.
A relatively common practice among artists, he had added to his name (Duval), from 1817 onwards, that of his wife (married in 1813), who belonged to a much higher social standing than he, in order to open doors in terms of clientele, but also to avoid confusion with another painter, Eustache-François Duval (1760-1836). Founder of the Musée de Lisieux and one-time mayor of Saint-Cloud, where he spent the rest of his life, he had a son, Jules-Alexandre (1814-1878), who also had a successful career as a painter.
His works can be found in many French museums, as well as at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Clark Art Institute (USA).

Pierre Duval Lecamus had two specialties:
- Full-length portraits of elegant models, with landscape backgrounds, small format and brilliant, refined execution.
- Genre scenes, either of interiors or of peasant and popular inspiration (farmers, hunters, sailors...), equally precise in their execution.
Our painting belongs to the latter category, and in particular to the theme of humorous interior scenes, which Duval Lecamus treated on numerous occasions early in his career.
Our painting is part portrait, part genre scene, part social image. The priest in his apartments has received a lady for dinner, whose purse is still clinging to the straw chair. The meal for two gives us a glimpse of crayfish and pâté en croûte, accompanied by flutes containing nothing better than Champagne wine, the bottle of which is in the bucket. The woman seems to have left the table for a moment, and the priest, standing up, extends his hand in the direction of the empty chair. Does he wish to inspect the contents of the bag?

In the background, an earthenware stoup hanging near the entrance door can be seen in several of the painter's other compositions featuring a priest as the central subject. To the right, a closed bed appears unmade, the result of a near-dinner frolic?
An intriguing element that ties in with the painter's series of works, the children looking through the transom, the scene taking place in the private apartments of this father who appears to be in charge of a school. A fine example!
The usual social criticism from this artist, who makes the life of the people and their sins into choice morsels.