Lot 85: * MATHIEU LE NAIN LAON CIRCA 1607-1677 PARIS

43 by 45 1/2 in.; 109.2 by 115.6 cm.

oil on canvas

P. Rosenberg, "Le premier chef-d'oeuvre de Mathieu Le Nain," in Revue de L'Art, 2001, no. 134, p. 82, under note 23, reproduced fig. 2.

Although more famous as a family for their genre paintings of peasants, the present work belongs to a small but important group of religious pictures attributed to Mathieu Le Nain. Mathieu's religious paintings, which are generally conceived in a lighter palette, are some of his most moving compositions. The humble setting for this religious scene is particularly fitting within the oeuvre of Mathieu Le Nain, but quite opposite from French painting of the 17th century which was considered primarily a reflection of the grandiose taste of the court. The Le Nains, created intimate works were nevertheless executed by the Le Nains in response to both their own artistic inclinations as well as a growing demand from a burgeoning middle-class clientele.

The Le Nain family fame was founded on their works with peasant subjects and earned them the title of reality painters. The scant information that is known about the lives of the Le Nain brothers comes predominantly from archival documents and from an early 18th-century manuscript by Claude Leleu, the canon of Laon Cathedral. They were the sons of Jeanne Prévost and Isaac Le Nain (d 1636), Sergent Royal au Grenier à Sel in Laon and taught by an 'artiste étranger', although it is not clear whether this means an artist from outside the town, or quite literally a foreigner. Some scholars have suggested Claude Vignon was their teacher. The brothers are recorded in Paris before 1629 where they set up a studio and rapidly received commissions, particularly for their portraits, which were praised by Du Bail in his novel of 1644, and Georges de Scudéry in his Cabinet poétique of 1646.

There are more historical records pertaining to Mathieu than to the other brothers. In 1633 Mathieu received his first important commission to paint the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption of the Virgin and the Coronation of the Virgin in the vaults of the Lady Chapel of St Germain-des-Prés (later destroyed). According to Leleu, in 1662, the same year he was appointed painter to the city of Paris, Mathieu was admitted as a founding member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. In 1662 Mathieu was awarded by the King the collar of the Order of St Michel, normally restricted to those of noble birth, this was a remarkable honour for a painter.

Although there is no evidence that any of the Le Nain brothers visited Italy, an 18th-century source refers to Louis as 'le Romain', and a number of the works attributed to the brothers show an awareness of contemporary Italian art. In Mathieu's religious and allegorical works the influence of the Flemings and Italians is particularly evident. In the present work, the influence of Caravaggesque compositional structure and lighting is particularly present. The action is suspended, and the figures are neither idealized nor sentimentalized.

The Le Nain brothers treated the subject of Supper at Emmaus multiple times and there are several dozen versions that were recorded in 18th and 19th century sales, although most of them remain undiscovered. The present composition certainly echoes the famous Supper at Emmaus in the Louvre, Paris, which is described by Rosenberg as a collaborative work by the Le Nain brothers, dated to before 1640. The gesture of Christ with his right arm raised and the gesture of Emmaus seated at the table with his arms crossed over his chest are both poses employed in the Louvre picture. Also the compositional structure with Christ depicted at the far left of the composition -- in the present work standing and in the Louvre picture seated -- and the three Emmaus' family members, painted tenderly at the far left of the composition beside a pillar mirrors directly the structure of the Louvre picture. The presence of the family members, humbly clad in both works, and the spartan meal offered at both tables introduces elements from le Nain's more famous peasant scenes. The setting of the present work and aspects of the Louvre picture also recall paintings by the Le Nains set in plein air . The high quality of the handling of the figures in the present work, coupled with the delicate coloration and lighting of the scene, create a work that is both intensely spiritual and poetic.