XV - Works On Paper - Marty de Cambiaire (English)

Eustache Le Sueur
Paris 1616 – 1655
10
Two Head Studies, preparatory for Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius
Black and red chalk, heightened with white, yellow pastel
195 X 146 mm (7 5 /8 x 5 6 /8 in.) ; 192 x 147 mm (7 9 /16 x 5 9 /16 in.)
These two elegant head studies are preparatory
for the central figures in Eustache Le Sueur’s large
tapestry cartoon in the Louvre Saint Gervasius and
Saint Protasius Led before Astasius for Refusing
to Sacrifice to Idols (Fig. 1). The cartoon is part of
an important commission for the church of Saint-
Gervais, Paris. The various stages of this commission
are well documented and studied in detail by Alain
Mérot in his monograph on the artist 1 .
On 24 March 1652, the wardens of the church of
Saint Gervais elaborated a detailed document for the
commission of six paintings and ten monochrome
bas-reliefs - to be reproduced in tapestries - to
Eustache Le Sueur who was, by then, at the height
of his career. The painter had refused to sign the
commission, “until he had made the first painting
and delivered the frame to check if he could make a
living out of it 2 ”. On completion of the first work in
June 1653, Le Sueur requested an increase, which
was granted. He then agreed to execute the other
five paintings, at the rate of one every six months.
That same year, however, he received important
commissions for the decoration of two rooms in the
apartments of Anne of Austria – the Queen mother’s
bedchamber and bathroom – and the bedchamber in
the apartments of the young Louis XIV at the Louvre.
Fig. 1 E. Le Sueur, SS. Gervasius and Protasius Led Before
Astasius, detail, 1652, Paris, Musée du Louvre.
We can thus presume that the painter became pressed
for time, which could explain why he only began
the second cartoon in 1654-55. Left unfinished at
the time of the artist’s death, The Flagellation of
Saint Gervasius (Musée des Beaux-arts, Lyon) was
completed by his brother-in-law, Thomas Goussé.
Sébastien Bourdon was entrusted with the execution
of the third cartoon illustrating The Beheading of
Saint Protasius and Philippe de Champaigne with the
last three of the series representing the appearance
of holy martyrs to Saint Ambrosius, the invention of
their relics, and the translation of their bodies. The
tapestry was produced by the Royal tapestry maker,
Gérard Laurent, ‘conducteurs des manufactures de
tapisserie de haute lisse pour le Roi’, as stated in the
contract with the church wardens, which was signed
on 21 March 1652. The first four were delivered in
1661, the last two a little later.
The creation of the first cartoon is documented by
the existence of nine related drawings : two are
preparatory for the entire figures of the two main
saints – one in the Metropolitan Museum of New
York (Fig. 2), the other in a private collection (Fig. 3)
– and seven for other figures in the composition 3 . Le
Sueur was also to supply three further drawings for
the borders of the tapestries 4 . The present drawings
are the only known studies of heads executed in
connection with the series of paintings and tapestries,
and therefore constitute a significant addition to the
artist’s corpus related to this important commission.
The present two drawings are executed on a greybeige
paper with apparent chain lines, which
appears to be the same paper regularly used by Le
Sueur. They are preparatory studies with differences
for the profiles of the twins brought before the
Roman prefect. Saint Gervasius who is shown
walking in front of his brother, has his eyes raised
both in the present drawing and in the study of the
full figure in the Metropolitan Museum, whereas in
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