Claude Vignon

CLAUDE VIGNON, (Tours, France, 1593 -1670).
"Harpálice freeing his father".
Etching on paper.
Signed in plate.
Measurements: 18 x 28 cm, 35 x 49 cm (frame).
Claude Vignon was a French painter, engraver and illustrator who worked in a wide range of genres. During a period of study in Italy. A prolific artist, his work has remained enigmatic, contradictory and difficult to define within a single term or style. His mature works are vibrantly colored, splendidly illuminated and often extremely expressive. Vignon worked with a fluid technique, the result of which was an almost electric brushstroke. He excelled especially in the depiction of fabrics, gold and precious stones. He received his initial artistic training in Paris from the mannerist painter Jacob Bunel, representative of the Second School of Fontainebleau. Although Vignon is not documented in Rome until 1618-19, it is likely that he resided there throughout that decade. There he was part of the French community of painters, including Simon Vouet and Valentin de Boulogne, both prominent members of the Caravaggisti, artists working in a style influenced by Caravaggio. After his return to Paris, he became one of the most respected, productive and successful artists in the city. His patrons included King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, and he also worked for ecclesiastical patrons and private clients. He was associated with print publisher and art dealer François Langlois. Claude Vignon was a very versatile artist who assimilated elements of various styles, from Mannerism to Venetian, Dutch and German art. His style was influenced by the works of the Venetian Caravaggesque painter Domenico Fetti, the German Adam Elsheimer and the Dutch Jacob Pynas, Pieter Lastman, among others.