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45
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French School, c. 1595, circle of François BUNEL
See original version (French)
45
-
French School, c. 1595, circle of François BUNEL
See original version (French)
Estimate €10,000 - €12,000
Voluntary lot
Description
French School, c. 1595, circle of François BUNEL
The Procession of the League
Panel
Height: 58 cm
Width: 114 cm
Provenance:
- Auction, Paris, 30 June 2000, lot 40.
This painting depicts one of the last processions organised in Paris, on 4 February 1593, by the League, an alliance of the most hardline Catholics. Henry III, allied with King Henry of Navarre, was assassinated on 1 August 1589 at Saint-Cloud, during the siege of Paris by the Catholic League. This faction, which governed the city, organised spectacular processions involving thousands of clergy, soldiers and children armed with arquebuses to oppose the accession of the Protestant Henry IV in the early 1590s. His conversion in 1613 brought an end to the unrest.
Against this backdrop of political and religious tensions, Paris became the scene of spectacular demonstrations intended to assert the Catholic faith and opposition to the new sovereign. The theme of the League’s procession was skilfully exploited by propaganda hostile to the Parisian League and inspired a whole series of paintings, the authorship of which was initially attributed to François Bunel (1522–1599), an artist loyal to Henry of Navarre from the very start of his political career.
Several versions and variations of this historical scene are now catalogued in French public collections, notably at the museum and estate of the Château de Pau [1], at the Château de Versailles (MV 3281) [2] and at the Valenciennes Museum of Fine Arts (P. 46.1.506) [3]. The painting by François Bunel (1522–1599), held at the Musée Carnavalet (P2538) [4], as well as the one offered for sale at Tajan in Paris on 16 December 2021, lot 57 (French School, c. 1600, workshop of François II Bunel, The League’s Procession Leaving Notre-Dame, panel, 71 x 119 cm) [5], are the closest matches.
[1] https://chateau-pau.fr/collection/objet/procession-de-la-ligue#:~:text=The%20scene%20depicts
one of them, a Protestant, Henry IV.
[2] https://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#/query/1a5055ed-79d2-49b9-abe6-e457d8d4e4ec
[3] https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/joconde/06380000532
[4] https://pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/joconde/M1104320026897
[5] https://www.tajan.com/auction-lot/ecole-francaise-vers-1600-atelier-de-francois-ii_c44430a902
Expert: Stéphane Pinta, Turquin firm (available by appointment at the expert’s office)
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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