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Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, abbé de Saint-Cyran (1581–1643) became spiritual director of the Jansenist convent of Port-Royal in Paris in 1636. He was imprisoned by Richelieu at Vincennes 1638–1642, and died the year following his release. The abbé would not allow his portrait to be painted during his lifetime, but after his death Champaigne was commissioned to produce a posthumous portrait of the movement’s spiritual leader. He copied the abbé’s likeness from his death mask, producing an appropriately austere image, reminiscent of a medieval chef reliquary (1647–1648; Grenoble, Musée des Beaux-Arts). It became well-known through an engraving by J. Morin, and The Wallace Collection’s picture is one of a large number of versions and copies after Champaigne’s original portrait.
Title
The abbé de Saint-Cyran
Date
c.1644–1654
Medium
oil on panel
Measurements
H 16.5 x W 11.4 cm
Accession number
P645
Acquisition method
probably acquired by Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford, at an unknown date; bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, 1897
Work type
Painting
