Louis Testelin (1615 – 1655) was a French painter.

Life

He was the son of Gilles Testelin, king's painter to

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. ...

- this gave Gilles an ex officio home and studio in the Louvre.Georges Guillet de Saint-George, notice. Louis' younger brother was the painter

Henri Testelin Henri Testelin (1616–1695) was a French painter and writer on art. Family Testelin was born in Paris as the son of Gilles Testelin, painter to king Louis XIII. He was the younger brother of the painter Louis Testelin.Eugène Haag and Emile ...

, secretary to the

Académie royale de peinture An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. His family was Protestant and Louis remained so until the end of his life, though this did not impede his career - he painted for

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

and accepted commissions from several monasteries in Paris. 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 to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of artists created religious and ...

and became a friend 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, ...

, who was working in the same studio. According to a biography edited by Georges Guillet de Saint-George, Testelin and Le Brun collaborated "on some paintings and decorative schemes" for the former church of Val-de-Grâce. He also painted the

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

s for 1652 (''Saint Peter Reviving the Widow Tabitha'', now in the

Musée des beaux-arts d'Arras The Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Arras is located in the old Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. Collection Paintings The museum's collection includes paintings of the Flemish and Dutch schools including Jehan Bell ...

) and 1655 (''The Whipping of Saints Paul and Silas''). In 1648, Louis Testelin became one of the founder members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. In 1649, he was chosen as its secretary and one of its professors in 1650, a role he held until his death in 1655. He also produced satirical caricatures and

ink wash painting Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses Wash (visual arts), washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged duri ...

s. Sylvain Kerspern,

La Tribune de l'art ''La Tribune de l'art'' (''The Art Tribune'') is a French online magazine on art history and western heritage from the Middle Ages to the 1930s. It was set up on 7 April 2003 by Didier Rykner, art historian and former agronomist. Harry Bellet ...

, 29.12.2006
online
He was buried in Paris's Saints-Pères Cemetery, a cemetery solely for Protestants.

Works

* ''Saint Louis Nursing Plague Victims'', 1654/1655,

Musée de Grenoble The Museum of Grenoble () is a municipal museum of Fine Arts and antiquities in the city of Grenoble in the Isère region of France. Located on the left bank of the Isère (river), Isère River, place Lavalette, it is known both for its collecti ...

. * ''The Return of Gonesse'', ink and wash, musée Sainte-Croix,

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

Bibliography (in French)

* David Simonneau, « Louis Testelin, dessinateur », Rencontres de l'école du Louvre. Dessins français aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Paris, 2003, 169–183. * Georges Guillet de Saint-George, notice su
Louis Testelin
in: Mémoires inédits sur la vie et les ouvrages des membres de l'Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, J.B. Dumoulin, Paris, 1854, Volume 1, 216–228.
Jean-Pierre Mouilleseaux, « Testelin Louis (1615-1655) - & Henri (1616-1695) », ''Encyclopædia Universalis''

« Louis Testelin (1615-1655) », notice du Musée virtuel du protestantisme

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testelin, Louis 17th-century French painters 1615 births 1655 deaths Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture French Protestants