Henri Testelin (1616–1695) was a French painter and writer on art.

Family

Testelin was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as the son of Gilles Testelin, painter to king

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. ...

. He was the younger brother of the painter Louis Testelin.Eugène Haag and Emile Haag, ''La France protestante'', IX, Paris 1859, p. 357-361
''Testelin, Tettelin ou Tetelin, famille d'artistes''.
/ref>

Académy royale

In 1648, Henri Testelin became one of the founding members of the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

. He succeeded his brother Louis as its secretary from 1650 and was nominated professor in 1656. In 1653, he suggested that academicians should regularly give lectures (''Conférences'') on art theory, a practice which was adopted and became a corner stone of the institution's activities. Testelin's own lectures consisted of his reading of tables in which he summarised all the aspects of art theory his colleagues had previously presented. He published these tables in 1680 as ''Sentimens des plus habiles peintres sur la pratique de la peinture et sculpture, mis en tables de préceptes, avec plusieurs discours académiques, ou conférences tenues en l'Académie royale des dits arts''. Reworked and expanded editions were published in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1693 or 1694 and in Paris in 1696. In 1853, French

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Anatole de Montaiglon published the 17th-century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de l'Académie royale de Peinture et de Sculpture depuis 1648 jusqu'en 1664'', a detailed account of the early history of the Académie royale, and identified the anonymous author as Henri Testelin.

Exile

In line with the increasingly intolerant religious policies of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, Testelin was dismissed from the Academy in 1681 because he was a

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. He left France and went into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. He died in The Hague on 17 April 1695.

Art

Henri Testelin painted portraits of Louis XIV and other important personalities. These show the influence of

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

, Testelin's close friend. Testelin was given living quarters at the Gobelins Manufactory for which he produced several

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

for

tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

. These are mostly scenes from the life of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and Louis XIV based on compositions by Le Brun and the battle painter Adam Frans van der Meulen. Gerhard Bissell
''Testelin, Henri''
in: ''

Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Thieme-Becker is a German biographical dictionary of artists. Thieme-Becker The dictionary was begun under the editorship of Ulrich Thieme (1865–1922) (volumes one to fifteen) and Felix Becker (1864–1928) (volumes one to four). It was compl ...

(Artists of the World)'', Vol. 108, Saur, Munich 2020 (in German). Most of his paintings are kept in the

palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Works by Testelin

File:Louis XIV 1648 Henri Testelin.jpg, ''Louis XIV at the age of 10'' (1648) File:Louis_XIV_(by_Henri_Testelin).jpg, ''Louis XIV'' (1666-1668) File:Seguier.jpg, '' Pierre Seguier'' (1666-1668) File:Testelin, Henri - Colbert Presenting the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences to Louis XIV in 1667.jpg, ''Foundation of the Académie de Sciences et l'Observatoire in 1666'' (~ 1675)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testelin, Henri 1616 births 1695 deaths Painters from Paris Huguenots French Baroque painters French portrait painters French emigrants to the Netherlands 17th-century French painters 17th-century French writers Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture