Previously erroneously attributed to Jacques Stella (1596-1657), a group of drawings was re-attributed to Claude Simpol (a contraction of Saint-Paul) and appear to be the preparatory model drawings for the set of sixteen pastoral prints known as Les Divertissements et les occupations de la campagne published by Jean Mariette (1660-1742) during the last decade of the seventeenth century. Jean Mariette was the father of the famous Parisian print editor, dealer and collector Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694-1774).[1]
The series comprise the twelve months and the four seasons, where each is represented by an occupation, a festival or ritual associated with the depicted month or season. Four of the sixteen depict professions while the vast majority represents Christian feasts and celebrations with often pagan influences. As all sixteen prints by Jean Mariette fail to mention their inventor, Simpol remained out of sight for long time as the author of the model drawings to the print series. Thanks to the handwritten notes of Pierre-Jean Mariette, preserved in the Department of Prints of the BnF, the model drawings to the set of sixteen prints can now be securely attributed to Claude Simpol.[2]
Simpol was a pupil of both Louis Bollogne the Younger (1654-1733) and his older brother Bon de Boullogne (1649-1717) with whom he lived between 1680 and 1687. Due to his wayward nature, the talented Simpol's reputation always remained slightly undervalued, which created the possibility for Jean Mariette to contract a leading and gifted artist as his house designer. Between 1702 and 1703 Simpol was commissioned to paint three pastorals for Louis XIV's Ménagerie at Versailles and in 1703 he painted the May for the Notre-Dame, Paris. The model drawings to Les Divertissements may be regarded as Simpol's greatest artistic legacy. He strongly influenced Bernard Picart (1673-1733) with whom he also collaborated, Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743). Simpol's combination of pastoral and commedia dell'arte genres foreshadows Watteau and is a feature of plays, poetry, painting and opera of the very late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.[3]
This recently discovered drawing represents one of the four seasons, Summer, Le Feu de la St. Jean, or St John's fire which is also the solstice or Midsummer's Day, the day with the longest time of daylight on the Northern Hemisphere which falls on the 23rd or 24th of June, celebrated by the lighting of bonfires, a subject later borrowed by Nicolas Lancret as a Fire for a set of the Four Elements. On two locations in our drawing (the upper part of the St. John's fire and the lower half of the dancing woman on the right) Simpol has cut out the paper and replaced the paper with two own-handed corrections for Jean Mariette. The print by Jean Mariette preserved in the collections BnF.[4]
Seven of the preparatory model drawings have been recorded of which two in private-collections and five in museum collections in Los Angeles (J.Paul Getty Museum), Cambridge (Fogg Art Museum), Munich (Staatliche Graphische Sammlung), one recently acquired by La Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris in 2011 and one recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 2011.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
The present recently discovered model drawing for L'Este: Le Feu de la St. Jean is the eigth drawing known this far. Our drawing may have been one of the five drawings sold in the Pierre-Jean Mariette sale of 1775 "Cinq Sujets pastorales & plaisirs champêtres, assez agréablement composés & d'un bel effet".[12]
[1] Jamie Mulherron, Claude Simpol's Divertissements for Jean Mariette.
Print Quarterly, March 2008. Vol XXv, Number 1, p. 23-36.
[2] P-J. Mariette, Notes Manuscrites sur les peintres et les graveurs.
1740-1770, 10 vols. B.N. Est, Vol. V, p.61. inv. no. FRBNF40367537
[3] F. Marandet, 'New Findings on the Life and Work of Claude Simpol',
Metropolitan Museum Journal 47 (2012), p. 109-118
[4] Jean Mariette, Le Feu de la Saint-Jean. L'Eté.
Etching, 250 x 320 mm. Bibliothèque nationale de France, inv. no. ED-82-FOL
[5] Claude Simpol, Fevrier: Mascarade.
Grey wash, pen and brown ink, over red chalk, 229 x 312 mm. Private-collection.
[6] Claude Simpol, Août: La Pêche.
Pen and brown ink, brush and grey ink, grey wash, 225 x 310 mm.
Recently on the Fine Art market with Paul Prouté, Paris. Whereabouts unknown.
[7] Claude Simpol, Septembre: La Recolte des Fruits.
Grey wash over black chalk, indented on front for transfer, covered with red chalk on back for transfer,
242 x 325 mm. John Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, inv. no 86.GG.619
[8] Claude Simpol, Juin: On tond les Moutons.
Grey wash, black and brown ink over black chalk, indented on front for transfer, 223 x 303 mm.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, MA.
[9] Claude Simpol, L'Hiver: Les Divertissements du Roy-boit.
Grey wash, pen and grey ink, 225 x 310 mm.
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich.
[10] Claude Simpol, La veillée.
Black chalk, pen and black and brown ink, heightened with white, indented for transfer, 225 x 305 mm.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. inv. no. RESERVE B-6 (A)-BOITE ECU
[11] Claude Simpol, Juilliet: Les Divertissements sur L'Eau et les Combats qui se donnent pour emporter l'Oye. Black chalk, pen and black and brown ink, brush and gray wash, heightened with white gouache, 227 x 305 mm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 2011.491
[12] Jamie Mulherron, Claude Simpol's Divertissements for Jean Mariette.
Print Quarterly, March 2008. Vol XXv, Number 1, p.30.
