Detail from L'Aimable Accord (Pleasant Harmony) by Elisabeth Claire Tardieu, after a painting by Jean François de Troy, 18th century. Dayton C. Miller Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.
after a painting by Jean François de Troy, history painter, portraitist, and etcher, 1679-1752
In this beautiful scene, three figures -- two women and one man -- play musical instruments. One woman plays a transverse flute in the center background. It is a one-keyed flute of the three-piece French pattern. The other woman, in the center foreground, plays a theorbo, while the man in the right background plays a violin.[1] They sit on a divan in a colonnaded interior, with the lower part of a statue visible at the top center. There is a curtain or drape at the top left edge; and, a music stand and an open score are in the foreground.
A long chapter on Jean François de Troy's life and work (in French) can be found in M. Louis Dimier, ed., Les Peintres français du XVIIIe siècle.[2] In the catalogue list of de Troy's paintings, the painting on which the Miller engraving was based is not included. However, another of de Troy's paintings engraved by Tardieu has a nearly identical title in Dimier on p. 44, cat. no. 27: Le Concert, ou L'Aimable Accord. It is described as "Young musicians before a harpsichord, one turning the pages of music and singing, the other beating the measure." This entry is in section IV of the catalogue under a heading of "Originaux manquants commis à la gravure," meaning missing original paintings by de Troy that are only known through engravings after them. Since the title of the engraving by Tardieu in Dimier is so similar to that of the Miller engraving, perhaps the painting on which the Miller engraving by Tardieu was modeled may have been a pendant to de Troy's lost painting of musicians around a harpsichord. At the very least, the Miller engraving is evidence of another painting by de Troy of a small musical ensemble.
About the Artists
Elisabeth Claire Tardieu, née Tournay, engraver, 1731-1773
There is very little biographical information on Elisabeth Claire Tardieu, except for a brief entry in Bénézit. It states there that her maiden name was Tournay and that she was born in Paris in 1731 and died in the same city in 1773. She was an engraver and became the second wife of Jacques Nicolas Tardieu (1716-1791), an Academician and engraver to the king and the elector of Cologne. Elisabeth Tardieu made reproductive engravings after works by de Troy, Dumesnil, Jeaurat, and Hutin.
Jean François de Troy, history painter, portraitist, and etcher, 1679-1752
Jean François de Troy was born in Paris in 1679 and died in Rome in 1752. He was taught by his father, François de Troy (1645-1730), a portrait painter who was patronized by members of the court, such as Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV. François de Troy eventually became director of the Académie Royale. Through his father, Jean François traveled to Italy, living there from 1699 until 1706, when he returned to Paris. Jean François was also a member of the Académie Royale, and was known for his history paintings of Biblical and classical subjects. However, he also painted "tableaux de modes" or "paintings of fashion or manners," in which the Parisian upper classes were shown in their daily pastimes, such as preparing for a ball, reading Molière, having a luncheon in the country after the hunt, or participating in small concert groups. Though considered one of the finest history painters of the 18th century, it is de Troy's refined and elegant scenes of daily life that are most appreciated today. Jean François de Troy was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome in 1738 and he lived in Italy until his death in 1752.[3]
Notes
- The identification of the theorbo in this image is courtesy of Maurice Byrne, via Robert Bigio, London, 5 July 2007. [back to article]
- M. Louis Dimier, ed., Les Peintres français du XVIIIe siècle. Paris and Brussels: Les Editions G. van Oest, 1928-1930. 2 vols. LC call number: ND546.D58. See chapter entitled "DeTroy" in vol. 2, pp. [1]-48, which includes a catalogue list of de Troy's work and a bibliography on pp. [33]-48. [back to article]
- Further biographical information and resources on Jean François de Troy can be found in an article, "Jean François de Troy," in Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online;
and, in an article by Marc Jordan, "Jean François de Troy" in the Oxford Companion to Western Art, also available via Oxford Art Online. Information on François de Troy is available in an article by Laurie G. Winters, "François de Troy," in Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online (all by subscription only). [back to article]