Lot 179: The Guardian Angel

Jean Pierre Raspay (Avignon 1741-1825)
The Guardian Angel
signed and dated 'petrus RASPAY ...pinx 1783' (lower left, on the rock)
oil on canvas
61 x 39¼ in. (154.9 x 76.8 cm.)

Jean-Pierre Raspay, called 'Le Jeune' was the younger brother of the artist Raymond Raspay (1749- after 1800), called 'Le Vieux'.
Jean-Pierre was predominantly a history and landscape painter, and studied under Joseph Vernet, entering the Académie Royaux in 1770. He travelled to Rome to study the Old Masters, returning to his home town of Avignon where he set up a successful studio, becoming director of the Avignon School of Drawing. Several of the artist's works can be found in the Musée d'Avignon, and notably he painted La Sainte-Trinité and Saint Jean-Baptiste en prison for the Chapelle des Pénitents Noir in Avignon.