DESCHAMPS Pierre-Hilaire (1784-1867)

Lot 11
Go to lot
Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
DESCHAMPS Pierre-Hilaire (1784-1867)
Portrait of Bishop Jean-Baptiste de Bouillé (1759-1842), Bishop of Poitiers. Oil on canvas, identified in the lower right corner, preserved in its beautiful period frame in carved and gilded wood with fleur-de-lis decoration. Restorations, as is. Sight: H.: 81 cm - W.: 62 cm. Frame: H.: 95 cm - W.: 75.5 cm. History: Mgr Jean-Baptiste de Bouillé, shortly after his ordination, was appointed chaplain to Queen Marie-Antoinette of Austria before becoming chaplain to Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Angouleme. He was appointed head of the bishopric of Poitiers from 1817 to 1842. His position at court enabled him to foresee most of the events of the revolution, which he then saw unfold with frightening rapidity. Witnessing the first scenes of this dark period of French history, he left Paris and its troubles to take refuge in the castle of Hautezat, near Clermont. He was waiting there in retirement for the outcome of events, when a letter from the Marquis de Bouillé came to tell him to leave in all haste for Metz, to take the marquise and her sister there, and to take them with him out of France. The general gave him no other explanation: it was only a few weeks later, and beyond the frontier, that the abbé de Bouillé learned of the generous attempt made by his relative to rescue the king from his executioners and of the unfortunate combination of circumstances that had caused it to fail: the failed escape of 20 and 21 June 1791, better known as the "escape to Varennes". Pierre-Hilaire Deschamps was an artist who never took part in official salons. We owe him the portraits of several bishops placed in the Salle des Prélats, in the sacristy of Poitiers cathedral. The Poitiers Museum has a portrait of a woman, and the Château de Versailles has a full-length portrait of the Duke Jacques de Felhe. Provenance: this portrait was probably commissioned by the Duchess of Angouleme, separated from her chaplain, and came down to us through the direct inheritance of Mgr Jean-Baptiste Bouillé. Reference: notice sur Mgr Jean-Baptiste de Bouillé, évêque de Poitiers, Imprimerie F.-A. Saurin, 1842, 19 pages
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue