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Lot Essay
Born in Tours and probably first trained in the studio of Jacob Bunel in Paris, Claude Vignon travelled to Rome in 1609-10 where he joined Simon Vouet, Valentin de Boulogne, and the French community of painters. Together with his compatriots, Vignon painted portraits, genre scenes and religious works that were greatly influenced by Caravaggio and his close pupil Bartolomeo Manfredi. Vignon's style was not exclusively Caravaggesque, however, and by the 1620s his work reflected exposure to both Venetian colouring and Jacques Bellange's Northern Mannerist conventions.
The present painting, St. John the Evangelist, is a particularly fine example of Vignon's Roman style. Especially Caravaggesque is his representation of the light source, which shines strongly down onto St. John, illuminating his face and hands and casting the folds of his cloak into dynamic patterns of light and shadow. Its high point of origin suggests a divine as well as earthly illumination, an idea reinforced by the saint's reverent expression and upward gaze. St. John the Evangelist was traditionally associated with John who was exiled by Domitian to Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. In this particular moment, he appears to have been interrupted at his task, with his manuscript open on the desk in front of him and his pen poised to record this new inspiration.
Characteristic of Vignon's style throughout his career is the vibrant color scheme, with St. John's rust-red cloak and dark olive tunic set against a dark ground and heightened with touches of white. The painting clearly derives from Vignon's Roman period, i.e. before his return to Paris in 1623. During his stay in Rome Vignon painted a number of single figure paintings depicting male saints reading or writing (fig. 1). This St. John may have formed one of a group of four evangelists; if so, no others from its group of those dimensions are known. Bassani notes that the model for our St. John may be the same sitter as that employed both for the Young Singer (Louvre, Paris) and one of the Two Drinkers (Whitbread Collection, Southill Park), works also dating from Vignon's Roman period.
The present painting, St. John the Evangelist, is a particularly fine example of Vignon's Roman style. Especially Caravaggesque is his representation of the light source, which shines strongly down onto St. John, illuminating his face and hands and casting the folds of his cloak into dynamic patterns of light and shadow. Its high point of origin suggests a divine as well as earthly illumination, an idea reinforced by the saint's reverent expression and upward gaze. St. John the Evangelist was traditionally associated with John who was exiled by Domitian to Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. In this particular moment, he appears to have been interrupted at his task, with his manuscript open on the desk in front of him and his pen poised to record this new inspiration.
Characteristic of Vignon's style throughout his career is the vibrant color scheme, with St. John's rust-red cloak and dark olive tunic set against a dark ground and heightened with touches of white. The painting clearly derives from Vignon's Roman period, i.e. before his return to Paris in 1623. During his stay in Rome Vignon painted a number of single figure paintings depicting male saints reading or writing (fig. 1). This St. John may have formed one of a group of four evangelists; if so, no others from its group of those dimensions are known. Bassani notes that the model for our St. John may be the same sitter as that employed both for the Young Singer (Louvre, Paris) and one of the Two Drinkers (Whitbread Collection, Southill Park), works also dating from Vignon's Roman period.