Henri Mauperché (c.1602,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

- 26 December 1686, Paris) was a French

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

and engraver. His name is also given as Henri Maupercher and Henri Montpercher. Most of his landscapes are capriccios.

Biography

Mauperché was a student of

Daniel Rabel Daniel Rabel (1578 – 3 January 1637) was a Renaissance French painter, engraver, miniaturist, botanist and natural history illustrator. He was the son of Jean Rabel (1545–1603) who was official artist at the court of Henri III. Rabel was ...

. In 1634, he went to Rome with

Louis Boullogne Louis Boullogne (; August 1609, in Picardy – June 1674, in Paris), known as Louis le père, was a French painter. Life After spending some years in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern ...

, where he associated with

Sébastien Bourdon Sébastien Bourdon (; 2 February 16168 May 1671) was a French painter and engraver. His ''chef d'œuvre'' is ''The Crucifixion of St. Peter'' made for the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, Notre Dame. Biography Bourdon was born in Montpellie ...

and a group of painters known as the . Mauperché returned to Paris in 1639, where he was commissioned to paint decorations in the guard room and antechamber of the Palais-Cardinal; the residence of Cardinal Richelieu. In 1645, Mauperché married Magdeleine Garnot. From 1646 to 1647, he worked on decorating the "Cabinet de l'Amour" at the

Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is an ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, built between 1640 and 1644 on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel La ...

, along with the landscape painters Pierre Patel,

Jan Asselyn Jan Asselijn ( 1610 – October 1, 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography Asselijn was born at Dieppe from a French Huguenot family as ''Jean Asselin''. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde (1587–1630), and disting ...

and

Herman van Swanevelt Herman van Swanevelt (1603 – 1655) was a Dutch painter and etcher from the Baroque era. Life Herman was born in Woerden to a family of thriving artisans whose ancestors included the famous painter Lucas van Leyden. The identity of Swanev ...

. In 1648, Mauperché became a member of the ''

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

'' and was named a Professor in 1655, which was an unusual honor for a landscape painter. Together with

Laurent de La Hyre Laurent de La Hyre (; 27 February 1606 – 28 December 1656) was a French Baroque painting, Baroque Painting, painter, born in Paris. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism. Life La Hyre was greatly influence ...

, he helped to popularize the classical landscape style of

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in I ...

. Having become famous for his decorations, Mauperché undertook to paint the apartments of Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

. As with the Hôtel Lambert, the greater part of those works have disappeared. His wife died in 1671. By 1686, Mauperché was too ill to attend sessions of the ''Académie'', and was excused. He died at the end of that year.

Selected works

Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

Biography

Selected works

Sources

Further reading

External links