A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
seven lie was taken by an uncle to Paris, and there
placed under tlie tuition of Jean Barth61emy, with
whom he remained until he was fourteen years of
age, when he returned to the soufli, and painted in
fresco a ceiling in a chateau near Bordeaux. He
then went to Toulouse, but met with so little encour-
agement that he resolved to enlist. His military
duties, however, proved so irksome to him that
his commanding officer, who recognized his talent,
gave him some liours' leave each day until his
friends procured his discharge. Being then eighteen
j-ears of age he went to Home, where he was forced
to make copies of the works of Claude Lorrain,
Andrea Sacchi, Bamboccio, and other artists then
in vogue, in order to gain a livelihood ; but after a
stay of three years, being a Protestant, he thought
it expedient to quit Rome on account of the
jealousy of an obscure painter named De Rieux,
who threatened to denounce him as a heretic to the
Holy Inquisition. On his way home he visited
Venice, and soon after reaching Paris married
Susanne Du Guernier, the sister of the miniature-
painters of that name. There a brilliant success
awaited him, for in 1643 he was selected to paint
the " mai " offered annually to the cathedral of
Notre-Dame by the Goldsmiths' Guild. The sub-
ject chosen was the ' Martyrdom of St. Peter, and
the picture, now in the Louvre, at once established
for him a reputation which has been preserved
almost intact to the present day. He was one of
the twelve artists who, in 1648, founded the
Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and was one
of its rectors from 1655 until his death. In 1652
the troubles of the Fronde drove him to Sweden,
where he became first painter to Queen Christina,
whose portrait, painted by him and engraved by
Nanteuil and Michel Lasne, remains the historic por-
trait of the famous sovereign. Upon the conversion
of the Queen to the Roman Catholic faith, and her
consequent abdication in 1654, Bourdon returned to
Paris, and, among other works, painted for the church
of St. Benedict the ' Descent from the Cross,' now
in the Leuvre, which was much admired. Family
affairs calling him to Montpellier, he there painted,
in 1659, for the cathedral church of St. Peter, an
immense picture of the ' Fall of Simon Magus,
which was severely criticised by a local painter
named Samuel Boissiere. An affray ensued, and
matters threatened to become serious, when Bourdon
prudently left Montpellier. After his return to
Paris he, in 1663, painted, with the fable of Phoebus
and Phaeton, the nine compartments of the ceiling
of the fine gallery of the Hotel de Bretonvilliers in
the He St. Louis, a mansion which has now entirely
disappeared. This was Bourdon's most important
work, and it is fortunate for his renown that the
decorations of the Hotel de Bretonvilliers have been
handed down by the engravings of Friquet de
Vaurose, one of liis favourite pupils. His last work
was a ceiling in the Tuileries, representing the
' Deification of Hercules. ' Bourdon died a Calvinist
in Paris on the 8th of May, 1671. He was endowed
with wonderful fertility of imagination and facility
of execution, but the quality of his work was very
unequal, and his drawing often incorrect. He
painted historical and genre subjects, portraits and
landscapes, the last somewhat resembling those of
Salvator Kosa. He has enjoyed a great reputation
as a colourist, notwithstanding the somewhat vulgar
preponderance in his pictures of reds and browns.
The Louvre possesses drawings by him which are
perhaps of even greater value than his paintings.
They are 29 in number, and include the studies for
the ' Martyrdom of St. Peter ' and the ' Descent
from the Cross,' as well as the so-called portrait of
himself, which he introduced into his picture of the
' Fall of Simon Magus.' The engravings of Bour-
don, especially his ' Acts of Mercy,' are very fine,
and will always bear witness to his great talent in
etching, and his skill in the use of the graver.
Robert-Dumesnil, in his ' Peintre-Graveur Fran-
9ais,' describes 44 plates, all of which are from
his own designs. The following are the principal
subjects :
The Acts of Mercy ; seven plates. Tlae Ketum of Jacob. Joseph's Dream. The Angelic Salutation. The Visitation. The Annunciation to the Shepherds. The Fhght into Egypt ; four different plates. The Holy Family with the Washerwoman. La Vierge a I'&uelle. La Vierge au rideau. The Repose in Egypt. The Return from Egypt. Landscapes ; twelve subjects. The following are the most important of Bour- don's works which are preserved in the public galleries of Europe : Amsterdam. Museum. The Marriage of St. Catharine. Bayeux. Museum. Queen Christina of Sweden. Cassel. Gallery. Soldier and Peasants playing Cards. „ „ An Old Man awakening a Com- rade. Copenhagen. Gallery. Laban carrjMng away his Idols. Florence. Uffizi. The Repose in Egypt. Grenoble. Museum. The Continence of Scipio. Hague. Museum. The Four Quarters of the World. Lille. Museum. The Saviour supported by Angels. Liverpool. Royal liist. A Bacchanalian Scene. London. A'a(. Gall. The Return of the Ark from Captivity. Madrid. Museo del St. Paul and St. Barnabas at Pardo. Lystra. Montpellier. Cathedral. The Fall of Simon Magus. „ Musee Fabre. The Descent from the Cross. „ „ The Discovery of the Body of St, Theresa. „ „ A Halt of Gipsies. „ „ A Landscape ; very large. „ ,, A Landscape with a River. „ „ Portrait of a Spaniard. „ „ Portrait of a General. Munich. Gallery. View in the Emirons of Rome. Naples. Gallery. Portrait of a Farnese Princess. Paris. louvre. The Martyrdom of St. Peter. „ „ The Descent from the Cross. „ „ Laban seeking his Idols. „ „ The Sacrifice of Noah. „ „ Solomou sacrificing to Idols. „ „ The Virgin and Child, with St. John. „ „ The Adoration of the Shepherds. „ „ The Repose in Egypt. „ „ The Presentation in the Temple. „ „ Christ blessing little Children. j, „ The Beheading of St. Protais. „ „ Julius Ciesar at the Tomb of Alexander. „ „ A Halt of Gipsies ; tico pictures. „ ,. The Beggars. „ Portrait of Himself. „ Portrait of Himself; the head only by Bourdon, the remainder by Rigaud. „ Portrait of Rene Descartes. „ Portrait, supposed to be that of Michel de Chamillart, Marquis de Cany. ({"""V/.Un Interior " 2a Case Coll.)
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