Jacob Bunel (c.1558,

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

- 14 October 1614,

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 ...

) was a French painter, associated with the

Second School of Fontainebleau The School of Fontainbleau () () refers to two periods of artistic production in France during the late French Renaissance centered on the royal Palace of Fontainebleau that were crucial in forming Northern Mannerism, and represent the first majo ...

Biography

He came from a family of artists. His grandfather, Jean (or Jehan), and his father, François, were painters, as was his brother; also named

François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...

. He was born a Catholic, and originally named Jacques, but converted to Protestantism sometime in the early 1590s. After being trained by his father, he left for Spain. There, from 1585 to 1588, he assisted

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...

and

Pellegrino Tibaldi San Sebastiano (Milan) Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527, Valsolda - 27 May 1596, Milan), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsolda ...

at the construction site for the cloister at the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial and about n ...

. When this was completed, he went to Rome to work in Zuccari's studio. At some point, he returned to Blois, where he painted portraits. He moved to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

in 1595, where he rented a house and studio and married

Marguerite Bahuche Marguerite Bahuche, also sometimes called Marguerite Bunel (born during the second half of the 16th century in Tours - died July 13, 1632) was a French woman painter, specialising in portraits, especially of women. Biography Marguerite Bahuche w ...

, a Protestant. She was also a painter, as was her father, Antoine.Brief biography of Bahuche
@ Siefar In 1599, they moved to Paris, at the request of King Henry IV, in memory of his father, who had served as the King's painter and

valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on ...

. He would be employed at the court until his death. From 1600, he was engaged in painting decorations for the

Palais des Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was ...

. After 1603, he did similar work at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, in the " Petite Galerie", replacing

Toussaint Dubreuil Toussaint Dubreuil (1561, Paris - 22 November 1602, Paris) was a French painter, associated with the second School of Fontainebleau. Biography His father, also named Toussaint, was a saddler, and he maintained a passion for horses throughout ...

, who had recently died.

Henri Sauval Henri Sauval (5 March 1623 (baptised) – 21 March 1676) was a French historian. Biography Sauval was the son of an advocate in the Parlement, he was born in Paris, and baptized on 5 March 1623. He devoted most of his life to researches among th ...

, ''Histoire et recherches des antiquités de la ville de Paris'', Chez Charles Moette et Jacques Chardon (1724
Online
/ref> Together with his wife, he decorated the aisles of the gallery with 28 portraits of previous Kings and Queens of France, beginning with Saint Louis, and filled the ceiling with mythological scenes. These were destroyed by a fire in 1661, but some preparatory drawings have survived. From 1608 to 1610, on a commission from Queen

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as rege ...

, he created a painting for the high altar at the new Church of the Feuillants on the

Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for it ...

, depicting the

Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

. The painting was moved to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in 1803, and destroyed by a fire in 1870, during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. There is a story that says Bunel left the painting unfinished because, as a Protestant, he refused to paint the Virgin. It was supposedly finished many years later by

Charles de La Fosse Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning wa ...

. What is likely his last project took place from 1612 to 1614, when he was part of a group providing decorations for the Grand Cabinet of Marie de' Medici, who was then the

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

, at the Louvre. Other artists participating in the project included , and

Ambroise Dubois Ambroise Dubois, originally Ambrosius Bosschaert (c.1543, Antwerp - 1614/15, Fontainebleau) was a French painter, associated with the School of Fontainebleau, Second School of Fontainebleau. Biography There is some uncertainty about when he ar ...

. His decorations depicted scenes from ''

Jerusalem Delivered ''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Christian knights, l ...

'' by

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunel, Jacob 16th-century French painters French male painters 17th-century French painters 1558 births 1614 deaths Artists from Blois Painters from Centre-Val de Loire French court painters People from the Orléanais

Biography

References

Further reading

External links