EARLY 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH SCHOOL (circa 1710) - Lot 137

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Lot n° 137
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Estimation :
600 - 800 EUR
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Result : 602EUR
EARLY 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH SCHOOL (circa 1710) - Lot 137
EARLY 18TH-CENTURY FRENCH SCHOOL (circa 1710) Madonna and Child with Saints (Holy Conversation) Oil on canvas 127 x 123 cm. (restorations and damage) Note: The painting depicts the Virgin and Child with saints, framed at the top by four winged cherub heads. On the right, Saint Anthony of Padua, wearing the Franciscan habit of the Cordeliers, offers a white lily to the Child. With his left hand, he presents a city—likely Besançon, given the family’s history. This prominent placement of the city, positioned beneath Christ, places Besançon under divine protection and asserts the power of the donor family. The saint on the left is likely Saint Francis of Assisi, wearing a habit and a hooded cloak. The two Franciscans are flanked in the background by two unidentified bearded saints. Next to the coat of arms, an open book contains a Latin text referring to Saint Anthony of Padua (“Frater Antonius”). The painting features a coat of arms in its lower section, crowned with laurel leaves. This coat of arms, registered by Charles d’Hozier on March 11, 1701, for Nicolas Étienne Simon, is listed in the Armorial of Franche-Comté (published in 1911 by the Gauthier brothers): “Azure, a fess Or charged in the center with a star Gules accompanied by a crescent between two stars Argent, and in the base a rose Or.” Nicolas Étienne Simon, a royal advisor, was appointed President of the Parliament of Besançon in 1712. The Simon family maintained devotional ties with the Order of the Cordeliers and alliances with regional noble families such as the Portier d’Aiglepierre. This is reflected in our painting, which is influenced by 17th-century Spanish art. The region had come under the authority of the kings of Spain in 1556, before returning to French rule in 1678 with the Treaty of Nijmegen signed by Louis XIV. This history is reflected in our painting, which blends Spanish and regional French art. Given its historical context and large format, this painting was likely donated by the Simon family to the Bernardines Convent in Orgelet, which had been linked to the family since its founding in 1652—the same year François Simon took up his post in the town. Condition Report: Original canvas composed of two joined panels (mounted on a later stretcher?). Evidence of restorations and repainting (visible under UV light)
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