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85 - French School, 1766
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Estimate €3,000 - €5,000
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Description
French School, 1766 Portraits of Nicolas Jourdain (born 1732) and his wife Marie Mortet (1733–1767) Pair of original canvases Height: 64 cm Width: 54 cm Inscription on the reverse of the canvas: ‘N. JOURDAIN WAS / PAINTED AT THE AGE / OF 34’ and ‘MARIE MORTET / WIFE OF . NICOLAS / JOURDAIN . MERCHANT / IN LANGRES . ON / 23 DECEMBER 1767 / PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE / OF 34 YEARS / IN . WAS. PAINTED. IN / 1766 AT THE AGE . OF 33’ Nicolas Jourdain and Marie Mortet were married at Saint-Pierre Church in Langres on 21 October 1755, and had two children: the first, named Nicolas after his father, born in 1757, and Jeanne, born in 1762 (source: Geneanet). They are dressed in the Parisian fashion of the Louis XV era, indicating a certain degree of affluence; he is wearing a pink waistcoat and shirt, with a wig and a catogan. Marie Mortet is wearing a French-style dress adorned with charming lace trimmings. It is probably made of silk, a plain pearl-grey colour, with ruffled motifs. Described on the reverse as a merchant, and as a trader in the Langres archives, it would be tempting to link our male subject to a family of craftsmen working in cutlery. Since the 14th century, Langres had specialised in the manufacture of knives and cutting instruments, for surgeons for example. This industry reached its peak in the 18th century, with the town boasting around 100 master cutlers in 1740. A silversmith named Nicolas Jourdain was granted a licence in 1734 (the Louvre Museum holds a set of table cutlery bearing his hallmark, circa 1766–1768, Department of Decorative Arts no. OA 9755, and other silverwork pieces by him are known). This name is also associated with a cotton textile factory after 1760 (Georges Viard, ‘Langres in Diderot’s Time’ [book review], *Recherches sur Diderot et sur l’Encyclopédie*, 1987, no. 3, pp. 149–151). The Maison des Lumières in Langres holds a portrait believed to be of Denise Diderot (Diderot’s sister), by the same painter as our pair, which is almost identical to ours. The pose and the dress are similar; only the black shawl is missing. The woman depicted appears slightly older. Provenance: Private collection, Besançon Experts: Cabinet Turquin
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About the sale CLASSIC TASTE: a collection from Besançon and elsewhere, featuring antique and regional paintings, works of art and furniture
Auction location
Auction time 09/19/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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