Everhard or Eberhard Jabach (10 July 1618 – 9 March 1695) was a French businessman, art collector, and director of the

French East India Company Compagnie des Indes () may refer to several French chartered companies involved in long-distance trading: * First French East Indies Company, in existence from 1604 to 1614 * French West India Company, active in the Western Hemisphere from 1664 t ...

. He was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

but later naturalised as a French subject.

Life

His father had expanded the family fortune and founded a bank in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, then in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

. Everhard himself settled in France in 1638 and was naturalised as a French subject in 1647. In 1648, he married Anna Maria de Groote in Cologne; she was the daughter of one of the city's senators, and he had four children with her. Francis Haskell called him "an opulent banker", associated with a trading company based in Amsterdam and one of the directors of the French East India Company, managing the 'factory' at Corbeil. In 1671, his fortune was valued at 2 million livres. Now lost, his town house, or '

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

, was on rue Neuve-Saint-Merri; he put on plays there, whose audiences included

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, before it became the base of the "Caisse Jabach" Comptoir commercial.

Jabach collections

Jabach is most notable as a famous collector of drawings, paintings, sculptures, objets d'art, bronzes, and prints by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, the

Caracci brothers The Carracci ( , , ) were a Bolognese family of artists that played an instrumental role in bringing forth the Baroque style in painting. Brothers Annibale (1560–1609) and Agostino (1557–1602) along with their cousin Ludovico (1555–1619 ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

Paul Bril Paul Bril (1554 – 7 October 1626) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and printmaker principally known for his Landscape art, landscapes.Nicola Courtright. "Paul Bril." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. ...

, Durer, Le Brun, and

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

. They came from the Ludovisi collection in Italy, from the sales in the Netherlands of the collections of the Earl of Arundel after the death of his widow in 1654 and those in London of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...

in 1650–1653, from other collections in Germany, and from the dispersal of Rubens' estate. Some of his drawings originated in

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ide ...

's noted '' Libro de' Disegni'' portfolio. In 1661–62 and 1671, he ceded much of his collection to

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

—a total of 5,000 drawings in the second sale, now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

's Cabinet des dessins. In 1741,

Pierre-Jean Mariette Pierre-Jean Mariette (; 7 May 1694 – 10 September 1774) was a collector of and dealer in old master prints, a renowned connoisseur, especially of prints and drawings, and a chronicler of the careers of French Italian and Flemish artists. He ...

stated that "in selling the King his paintings and drawings, abachheld back some of the drawings, and certainly not the least beautiful ones". At his death, he left behind another collection of 4,000 drawings in 26 portfolios; the Louvre's département des Arts graphiques conducted an inventory of them after his death and published it in 2002. In 2013, one aspect of Jabach's collection was the subject of an exhibition at the Louvre called "A German at the Court of Louis XIV; From Dürer to Van Dyck: the Everhard Jabach collection of Northern Art". His portrait was painted by several notable artists of the time, including Rigaud in 1688 and

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

in 1636-37 (now in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

), whilst he commissioned a group portrait of his family and his collection from Charles LeBrun (since 2014,

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, a second version having been lost in Berlin in WW2). He also acted as an agent for

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

in the dispersal in London of the collection of Charles I, in competition with the French ambassador acting for the king. Most of these paintings also reached the French royal collection after the cardinal's death. Jabach used agents in London, especially a French merchant called Oudancour. Jabach's purchases totaled over twenty paintings of extremely high quality, with the representatives of the King of Spain and the Emperor being the main other competing buyers.Brotton, 298-299

Selected works from his collection

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italians, Italian Mannerism, Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or r ...

, '' Portrait of a Sculptor'' (now

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

) *

Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...

, ''

Adoration of the Magi in the Snow The ''Adoration of the Magi in the Snow'' (or ''Adoration of the Magi in a Winter Landscape'') is a painting in panel painting, oils on oak panel of 1563, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, now in the Oskar Reinhart Collection Am Römerholz in Wintert ...

'' (now Oskar Reinhart Collection

Am Römerholz The Reinhart Collection formed by Oskar Reinhart is now displayed in a museum in his old house, "Am Römerholz" in Winterthur, Zurich Canton, Switzerland, as well as the Museum Oskar Reinhart in the centre of Winterthur. It belongs to the Swiss ...

) *

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

, '' The Death of the Virgin'' (now Louvre) *

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

, '' Allegory of Vice'' and '' Allegory of Virtue'', from

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion ...

's studiolo in Mantua (both now

) * Durer, the Jabach Altarpiece (main panel lost; side panels in Wallraf-Richartz Museum and

Städel Museum The Städel, officially the ''Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', is an art museum in Frankfurt, with one of the most important collections in Germany. The museum is located at the Museumsufer on the Sachsenhausen (Frankfurt ...

) *

van Eyck Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch language, Dutch toponymic surname. ''Eijck'', ''Eyck'', ''Eyk'' and ''Eijk'' are all archaic spellings of modern Dutch ("oak") and the surname literally translates as "from/of oak". However, in most cases, the fam ...

, '' Dresden Triptych'' (now

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister The (, ''Old Masters Gallery'') in Dresden, Germany, displays around 750 paintings from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It includes major Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance works as well as Dutch Golden Age painting, Dutch and F ...

) * Leonardo, ''

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

'' (now Louvre) * Gentileschi, ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' (now Louvre) *

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, ''The Entombment'' (now

) * Titian, '' Man with a Glove'' (now Louvre) * Titian, ''Conjugal Allegory'' (now Louvre) * Titian or Giorgione, '' Pastoral Concert'' (now Louvre)

Bibliography

* Brotton, Jerry, ''The Sale of the Late King's Goods: Charles I and His Art Collection'', 2007, Pan Macmillan, * Antoine Schnapper, ''Curieux du Grand Siècle'', Flammarion, 1994 * C. Monbeig-Goguel, « Taste and Trade: The Retouched Drawings in the Everhard Jabach Collection at the Louvre », ''The Burlington Magazine'', 1988 * ''Collections de Louis XIV'', Paris, Orangerie des Tuileries, 7 octobre 1977 – 9 janvier 1978, p. 10-20 du catalogue qui reproduit un portrait de Jabach dessiné par Le Brun, et son paraphe * ''L'honneur de la curiosité – de Dürer à Poussin, dessins de la seconde collection Jabach'', musée du Louvre, février – avril 2002, catalogue * Philippe Dagen, « De Dürer à Poussin, de merveilleux dessins », ''Le Monde'', 2 février 2002, article non signé ; « Curieux et passionné », ''Le Monde'', 22 février 2002 * http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/626692

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jabach, Everhard French bankers French art collectors Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to France Businesspeople from Cologne 1618 births 1695 deaths