Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

in the tenebrist style.

Origins

Valentin was born in Coulommiers,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he was baptised in the parish of Saint-Denys on 3 January 1591, making 1590 his likely year of birth. The family name, also spelled Boullogne and Boulongne, appears to originate from

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, a city in northern France in the colony of

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

, though the family had dwelt at Coulommiers since at least 1489. His father, also named Valentin, and his uncle Jean were both painters.

In Italy

It can be presumed that Valentin would have first started painting in his father's studio prior to moving to

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 ...

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 ...

, and before leaving for Italy. Valentin is recorded in Italy in the ''stati d'anime'' for 1620, when he was living in the parish of Santa Maria del Popolo. While studying in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

under Simon Vouet, Valentin came under the influence of

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 ...

and

Bartolomeo Manfredi Bartolomeo Manfredi (baptised 25 August 1582 – 12 December 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 17th century. Life Manfredi was born in Ostiano, ...

. He also joined the

Bentvueghels The Bentvueghels (Dutch for "Birds of a Feather") were a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists active in Rome from about 1620 to 1720. They are also known as the Schildersbent ("painters' clique"). Activities The members, which incl ...

, a riotous unofficial group of expatriate, mostly Flemish, artists and was given the group nickname of "innamorato," no doubt in reference to his own name. Caravaggio used a bold, naturalistic style, which emphasized the common humanity of the apostles and martyrs, flattered the aspirations of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

Church, while his vivid chiaroscuro enhanced both three-dimensionality and drama, as well as evoking the mystery of the faith." Caravaggio "followed a militantly realist agenda, rejecting both

Mannerism Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

and the classicizing naturalism" and "in the first 30 years of the 17th century his naturalistic ambitions and revolutionary artistic procedures attracted a large following from all over Europe. Manfredi, also an Italian painter, was known throughout Italy and beyond as Caravaggio's closest follower. In the dramatically lit canvases of his later period Manfredi adopted a common theme from Caravaggio—the tavern scene featuring ordinary people, even religious subjects, whose figures are depicted close to the surface of the picture to involve the viewer in the action. While Caravaggio and Manfredi may have influenced the style and themes that became common in Valentin's work, Valentin studied as well under Simon Vouet, considered a leading French painter by contemporaries. Vouet's earliest works exhibit the influence of Caravaggio and deploy dramatic contrasts of light with a restricted palette of blacks, browns and whites. Valentin had success with a type of composition invented by Caravaggio in which fortune tellers, drinkers, or gamblers are grouped around a table. Valentin himself was fond of carousing and fine wine. Approximately 75 of his works survive. Valentin's genius shows in the subtleness of psychological expression and interplay among his characters, as well as in the refinement and finesse of his painting technique. Valentin's painting '' Fortune Teller with Soldiers'' depicts a group of young soldiers, one of whom is mesmerized by the fortune teller reading his palm. Behind the gypsy a shadowy figure looks at the viewer with his finger to his lips in a conspiratorial gesture as he steals the fortune teller's purse from her pocket. At the same time the thief is pickpocketed in turn by a small child. While one person's fortune is told, another's is being stolen; and one thief falls victim to another. Valentin's pupils included Nicolas Tournier.

Death

Valentin de Boulogne is said to have died after bathing in the freezing cold waters of the Fontana del Tritone on

Piazza Barberini Piazza Barberini is a large piazza in the ''centro storico'' or city center of Rome, Italy and situated on the Quirinal Hill. It was created in the 16th century but many of the surrounding buildings have subsequently been rebuilt. History The s ...

, after having drunk too much.

Gallery

File:Valentin de Boulogne - Saint Jean-Baptiste, huile sur toile 178 x 133 cm, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, cathédrale Saint-Jean.jpg, St John the Baptist in the Desert File:Boulogne, Valentin de - Rafaello Menicucci - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Rafaello Menicucci'' File:Valentin de Boulogne, Negazione di Pietro.jpg, Denial of Saint Peter File:Valentin de Boulogne - Christ and the Adulteress - Google Art Project.jpg, Christ and the Adulteress File:Valentin de Boulogne, Last Supper.jpg, Last Supper File:Valentin de Boulogne, Musiciens et soldats.jpg, '' Musicians and Soldiers'' File:Martyrdom of St Processo and St Martiniano, by Valentin de Boulogne.jpg, ''The Martyrdom of Martinian and Processus'' (1629) File:Valentin de Boulogne - Saint Jean Baptiste (Apiro, Collegio di Sant'Urbano).jpg, St John the Baptist

References

*Jacques Thuillier, Un peintre passionné, L'Oeil, November 1958

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulogne, Valentin De 1591 births 1632 deaths People from Coulommiers 17th-century French painters French male painters Caravaggisti Catholic painters