The Annunciation, School of Charles Errard (1606-1689)

School of Charles Errard (1606-1689)
The Annunciation.
About 1640-1650.
Oil on copper.
L. 77,5 - H. 59 cm.


This Annunciation scene depicts the Virgin Mary surprised during her prayer by the arrival of the angel Gabriel carrying a branch of lily, her attribute, and draped in a fabric with golden reflections. The two figures are frozen in a dynamic gesture, the Virgin Mary sketching out a movement of surprise as the archangel moves towards her and her hair, caught in a gust of wind, mingles with her cloak. Mary, dressed in red and black, nevertheless adopts a humble and serene posture. The space is structured with classical architectural elements in the background and the presence of putti and the Holy Spirit, which accentuate the sacred aspect of the scene.


This Annunciation represents a real milestone in the history of art, as it lies at the centre of a nexus of influences representative of the beginnings of the Académie de France in Rome, founded in 1666. In addition to the influence of Titian's Annunciation on the overall composition of the work, there are other inspirations.


The artist who produced this work had a direct relationship with the Italian master Carlo Maratti (1625-1613), who lived in Rome throughout his career. The figure of the Virgin Mary leaning over her desk with her hands raised is almost identical in a drawing and an engraving by Carlo Maratti depicting the same theme. This engraving was widely circulated in the second half of the 17th century, but the figure is a mirror image of the representation of our Virgin on copperplate. On the other hand, the original drawing, published by Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rondino[1], appears to be the right way round. The artist would therefore have created his Madonna based on Maratti's original drawing, dating from the 1640s, and not on his engraving, published later. But he would have modified the face.

As for the angel, he resurfaced in a sale with a painting attributed to Noël Coypel (1628-1707) depicting Tobie and the angel (Hôtel des ventes Giraudeau, Tours, 22/05/2021), but it is still in the opposite direction to the figure in the Annunciation. One of the two paintings was therefore very probably inspired by an engraving. It remains to be seen whether our work was the inspiration or whether another engraving, of which we have no knowledge, circulated for several decades during the 17th century.




In any case, the person making the link between Maratti and Coypel is none other than Noël Coypel's teacher, Charles Errard, who was the first director of the Académie de France in Rome and exerted his influence on many artists of his generation.
This Annunciation was painted within this circle of artists who exerted multiple influences on each other. Charles Errard was friends with Carlo Maratti and had a long and close relationship with him during his stays in Rome, and Noël Coypel was also connected with him [2].

Charles Errard was a major figure of classicism under Louis XIV. The son of a decorator, he trained in drawing and painting from an early age, developing a taste for Antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. He was one of the most important decorative painters of his generation, the first painter of King Louis XIV's buildings, one of the twelve founders of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and the first director of the Académie de France in Rome.
He travelled to Italy with his father from 1627 and did not return to Paris until 1643. Errard worked on major royal projects, notably at the Louvre and Versailles, collaborating with Charles Le Brun. He also worked on decorations with Noël Coypel, notably for the Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre and other royal commissions.
His precise, rigorous style left a lasting mark on the official art of the Grand Siècle. The Parlement de Bretagne in Rennes is a striking example of this. The compartmentalised ceiling of the Grand'Chambre, created between 1660 and 1661, illustrates this influence: Errard designed the vast composition, while Coypel animated the whole with figures in dynamic, twirling postures.


Our work is situated at the junction of the artist's first stay in Italy and his return to Paris. Influenced by his elders who also stayed in Rome: Nicolas Poussin, who gave him advice, and Charles Mellin, as well as artists of his generation who stayed in Rome in the late 1630s, such as Louis Boullogne I (1609-1674), it was within this circle of influence that the Annunciation was created.


Illustrations:
Titian (1490-1576), The Annunciation, oil on canvas, circa 1535, 166x266cm, Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Venice).
Carlo Maratti, The Annunciation, red chalk on paper, 21x15.5 cm, Museum Kunstpalast (Düsseldorf).
Carlo Maratti, The Annunciation, etching on paper, 21.7x14.7cm.


[1] Simonetta Proesperi Valenti Rodino, Drawings by Carlo Maratti in the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf at the Kunstpalast, Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg, 2024, cat. 371.

[2] Kazerouni, Guillaume et al. Noël Coypel, 1628-1707?: peintre du roi?: [exposition, Versailles, Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, 26 septembre 2023 - 28 janvier 2024?; Rennes, Musée des beaux-arts, 17 février - 5 mai 2024]. Gand: Snoeck, 2023. Print.
Coquery, Emmanuel, et Bonfait Olivier. Charles Errard, ca. 1601-1689?: la noblesse du décor. Paris: Arthena, 2013. Print.