Paul Fréart de Chantelou (25 March 1609 – 1694) was a French collector and patron of the arts. He encouraged major artists of his era, in particular

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

(1594–1665) and

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, , ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 159828 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor of his ...

(1598–1680), and is known for his diary describing Bernini's visit to Paris in 1665 (first published in 1885).

Early life

Paul Fréart was born in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

, the third son of Jean Fréart, sieur de Chantelou and grand provost of Maine (died 1611). Paul's older brothers, Jean Fréart, sieur de Chantelou (1604–1674), and Roland Fréart, sieur de Chambray (1606–1676), were also connoisseurs and patrons of the arts.

Chantelou and Poussin

In 1638 Paul Fréart de Chantelou became a secretary to his cousin, François Sublet de Noyers, the superintendent of the

Bâtiments du Roi The Bâtiments du Roi (, "King's Buildings") was a division of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris. History The Bâtiments ...

, who sent Paul and his brother Roland to Rome in 1639 and 1640, principally to fetch Poussin, but also to bring back casts and designs of Roman antiquities for the French court. Poussin's return to Paris in December 1640 would doubtless have resulted in the end of his artistic career had he not attached himself to a prestigious clientele of Parisian amateurs, among whom Chantelou was of the most influential. The two men had a long correspondence which even today provides a rich source of details on the artist's life and his artistic conception. Among Chantelou's commissions from Poussin after his time in Paris are his

Seven Sacraments There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those ...

(1644–1648), once in the collection of the duke of Sutherland and now in the store of the

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by Wi ...

, and the famous ''

Self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'' (1650), now in the musée du Louvre.Blunt 1967, pp. 213–214.

Chantelou and Bernini

In 1665,

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, through his intermediary and minister Colbert, summoned Bernini to Paris to take part in the rebuilding of the Louvre The king designated Chantelou to welcome him and accompany him during his stay in Paris. Chantelou kept a precise day-to-day ''Journal'' of this meeting—from Bernini's arrival in Paris at the start of June, to his departure five months later—which survives to this day. Intended for his brother (who lived in the provinces at the time and unable to meet the sculptor in person), this ''Journal'' has become a source of importance, for history and for art history. It not only tells of the artist's personality and the conception of his art (detailing, for example, the creation of the king's portrait), but also of everyday court life: confrontation between the king of France and the most renowned Italian artist of his time reveals the king's political clout.

Notes

Bibliography

* Asfour, Amal (1996). "Fréart. (1) Roland Fréart" in Turner 1996, vol. 11, pp. 743–744. Also a
Oxford Art Online
(subscription required). *

Blunt, Anthony Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), styled Sir Anthony Blunt KCVO from 1956 to November 1979, was a leading British art historian and Soviet spy. Blunt was professor of art history at the University of London, dire ...

(1967). ''Nicolas Poussin''. London: Palas-Athene. . * Bull, Malcolm (1996). "Fréart. (2) Paul Fréart" in Turner 1996, vol. 11, p. 744. Also a
Oxford Art Online
(subscription required). * Chardon, Henri (1867). ''Les frères Fréart de Chantelou''. Le Mans: Monnoyer
Copy
at Gallica. * Dauvois, Daniel (2008). "Fréart, Paul", vol. 1, pp. 504–505, in ''

The Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century French Philosophers The ''Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century French Philosophers'' is a dictionary of philosophical writers in France between 1601 and 1700, edited by Luc Foisneau. An augmented and revised French edition has been published in 2015. Content The ''D ...

'', edited by Luc Foisneau. London: Continuum. . * Fréart de Chantelou, Paul (1885). ''Journal du cavalier Bernin en France'' , edited by

Ludovic Lalanne Ludovic Lalanne (23 April 1815, Paris – 16 May 1898, Paris) was a French historian and librarian. The engineer and politician Léon Lalanne (1811–1892) was his brother. Biography Lalanne was a student at the lycée Louis-le-Grand and late ...

. Paris: Gazette des Beaux Arts
Copy
at Internet Archive
Copy
at Gallica. Reprinted 1981, Aix-en-Provence: Pandora. . * Jouanny, Charles, editor (1911). ''Correspondance de Nicolas Poussin'' . Paris: Archives de l'art français
Copy
at Internet Archive. * Turner, Jane, editor (1996). ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'', 34 volumes, reprinted with minor corrections in 1998. New York: Grove. .

External links

Excerpts in English from the diary of Bernini's visit to France, 1665
at Columbia.edu {{DEFAULTSORT:Chantelou, Paul Freart De 1609 births 1694 deaths French art collectors Gian Lorenzo Bernini 17th-century diarists French diarists