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Jacques
Blanchard

France • 1600−1638

Biography and information

French artist Blanchard studied in Paris with Nicolas Bollery, and then in Lyon at the Horace LeBlanc (1620-1623). Soon he went to Italy, first in Rome (1624-1626), and then to Venice (1626-1628); returns a year in Lyon and later in Paris. It was here that he wrote his first famous work "the Madonna and child, giving the keys to St. Peter" (1628, Albi Cathedral). In this picture already manifested the typical features of his style: fine head of Mary, with a profile that is slightly expanded toward the viewer; fascia composition in the Venetian spirit, accented with a diagonal lighting; warm and fuzzy flavor. These principles Blanchard uses not only in the portraits ("portrait of a man", the Detroit Institute of arts) and several religious compositions, appealing to the imagery of the Bologna academics, but also in a variety of "SV. Families" (Paris, Louvre Museum; museums in Karlsruhe and Cherbourg) and "Miloserdie" (Paris, Louvre; London, air Gal. Courtauld Institute). During his short artistic career, Blanchard has created two genuine masterpieces - the painting "Venus and the graces" (1631-1633, Paris, Louvre) and "Angelica and Medor" (approx. 1634-1635, new York, Metropolitan Museum). In these works there are memories of naked school Background-tenba, but they are mixed with the influence of Venetian painting, particularly Veronese: the same bright coloring, the same black and white contrasts and transitions, the same lyricism, explaining common by the old biographers Blanchard's comparison of his work with the works of Titian. The picture of "Orgy" (1636, Nancy, musée des Beaux-arts), as it sums up the artist's work and puts it next to the works of Jan Liss. Not surprisingly, in the inventory made after the death of his first wife Blanchard (1645) mentions the work of Liss. Creativity Blanchard distinguishes healthy sensuality; more than University; it enlivens the intellectual elegance of women's images Primaticcio, giving them a prosaic character, close to the spirit of Rubens and Jordaens.