Charles Poerson (c. 1609 - 1667) was a French painter. He is also notable as the father and tutor of the painter Charles-François Poerson.

Life

Born in

Vic-sur-Seille Vic-sur-Seille (, literally ''Vic on Seille''; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. People It was the birthplace of Georges de La Tour. Art museum The art museum of Vic-sur-Seille, in French ', was c ...

, he studied under

Simon Vouet Simon Vouet (; 9 January 1590 – 30 June 1649) was a French painter who studied and rose to prominence in Italy before being summoned by Louis XIII of France, Louis XIII to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of artists c ...

and continued his style. Poerson received several religious commissions - he painted the May for 1642, ''Saint Peter Preaching in Jerusalem'', and produced the cartoons for the Life of the Madonna for the interior of

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to th ...

: ''The Annunciation'', now in the Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras and ''The Coronation of the Virgin'', now in the

Landesmuseum Mainz The Landesmuseum Mainz, or Mainz State Museum, is a museum of art and history in Mainz, Germany. In March 2010 it reopened in full after an extensive renovation. The museum has its roots in a painting collection donated by Napoleon and Chapta ...

. He was also commissioned by

cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

to paint the now-lost 'gallery of famous men' in his palace (now known as

Palais Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...

) - some works from that scheme survive, including ''The Election of

Suger Suger (; la, Sugerius; 1081 – 13 January 1151) was a French abbot, statesman, and historian. He once lived at the court of Pope Calixtus II in Maguelonne, France. He later became abbot of St-Denis, and became a close confidant to King Lou ...

as Abbot of Saint-Denis'' and '' Louis VII Arriving at Abbot Suger's Funeral'', both now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes. After

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Brabançon-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school. He was a founding member of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, the premier art ...

and

Jacques Stella Jacques Stella (1596 – 29 April 1657) was a French painter, a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism. Life Stella was born in Lyon. His father was François Stella, a painter and merchant of Flemish origin, but ...

, Poerson was the third painter to be taken on to produce a series of fourteen tapisteries for Notre-Dame, completed between 1638 and 1657 to fulfil

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and Richelieu's vow to the Madonna in 1636. He produced designed for eleven of them between 1650 and 1657 - ''The Annunciation'', ''The Visitation'', ''The Nativity'', ''The Adoration of the Magi'', ''The Purification of the Virgin (The Presentation of Christ in the Temple)'', ''The Flight into Egypt'', ''Christ Disputing with the Doctors of the Law'', ''The Marriage at Cana'', ''The Dormition of the Virgin'', ''The Assumption'' and ''The Coronation of the Virgin''. The finished tapisteries were acquired by

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...

chapter in 1739 and now hang in its nave every year between Advent and Epiphany. He died in Paris.

Gallery

File:Charles Poërson - Rest on the Flight into Egypt - 1973.32 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tiff, ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' (circa 1640) File:Charles Poërson (Umkreis) - Ruhe auf der Flucht nach Ägypten - 1207 - Bavarian State Painting Collections.jpg, ''Rest on the Flight into Egypt'' File:Poerson - Allégorie du mariage de Gaston d'Orléans.JPG, Allegory of the marriage of Gaston d'Orléans

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poerson, Charles 1609 births 1667 deaths 17th-century French painters People from Moselle (department)