Parrot Confronting Two Spaniels. By Reynaud Levieux (nîmes 1613-rome 1699)

Oil on canvas
Presented in its beautiful period frame in carved and gilded oak, a so-called flowered corners model.
Total dimensions with the frame: 100 x 120 cm
On our canvas, the Nîmes painter Reynaud Levieux, mixes still life and animal painting, to give us this exquisite picture. Two spaniels sleep on a sumptuous red leather cushion edged with trimmings made of gold thread. A Macaw sitting on a table appears to be defending a bunch of grapes and confronts one of the two dogs who have woken up. The background is dark, only the base of a column remains visible. The light comes from an opening at the top left and illuminates the scene perpendicularly. Reynaud Levieux first worked in his father's workshop, then went to Rome in 1640 to perfect his knowledge. He is part of a team of six painters with Pierre Mignard, Jean le Maire, Charles Errard, Jean Nocret and Nicolas Chaperon. Under the direction of Nicolas Poussin, he is in charge of making copies of Italian masterpieces. He becomes an appreciated painter. His paintings from this period are not all known and we are beginning to discover some, sometimes hidden under illustrious names, such as Theseus discovering the arms of his father which was attributed to Laurent de La Hyre. He returned to Nîmes in 1644 then moved to Montpellier in 1649, he participated in the decoration of the Hôtel d'Autheville, made tapestry cartoons on the theme of the Life of Moses. Then settled in Avignon, he painted in 1651 a Holy Family for the Carthusians (collegiate church of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon); he painted the Purification of the Virgin (1654) for Notre-Dame-des-Doms. In 1659, he joined the brotherhood of the Black Penitents, for which he painted a Deposition of Saint John the Baptist (Nîmes museum). He paints many pictures for mansions and in particular his famous still lifes where we find his favorite animals, spaniels and parrots, sometimes squirrels. There are several more or less detailed versions with the addition of fruits or flowers and different formats. In 1669, Reynaud Levieux left for Rome where he would reside the remainder of his life for thirty years. He lives in a small house, located in Via Laurina, which he will rent until his death. One of his nephews, son of his brother Jean d'Uzès, named like him Reynaud, stayed by his side in Rome and married there on June 21, 1695 with Marie-Jeanne Vaillant, originally from Lyon. Reynaud Levieux died on March 18, 1699 and was buried the next day in the Church of Saint Marie-des-Anges (Santa Maria degli Angeli) in Rome. His art, of an austere classicism inherited from Raphael and a real refinement in the careful craftsmanship and sober color ranges, has recently been given pride of place.
Origin : December 9, 1999 - Tajan sale, Paris-France, important old master paintings. Lot: 14 reproduced on page 16 of the catalog Very good state of conservation. Sold with invoice & certificate