François Lemoyne (French, 1688–1737)

François Lemoyne (French, 1688–1737)
Study for the head if Melchior in the Adoration of the Magi
black, red and white chalk on beige paper
26 x 21.5 cm. (10 1/4 x 8 1/2 in.)

Provenance
With Galerie Lestranger, 3 Place Jean-de-Renaud, where purchased by the present owner.

The present drawing is a preparatory work for the character of Melchior in Lemoyne's Adoration of the Magi. This work, untraced until recently, was presented to the Académie on 31st December 1716, and gained François Lemoyne nomination for the organisation's membership.

François Lemoyne, born in Paris, was a highly regarded artist of the Late Baroque period. Notbaly, Lemoyne won the Prix de Rome, held the position of professor of the Academie royale de peinture et de sculpture, and was Premier peintre du Roi to Louis XV throughout his career. After being taught himself by Louis Galoche, he too became a mentor of well known artists such as François Boucher and Charles-Jospeh Natoire.

The artist travelled between France and Italy, where his studies in Rome enhanced his knowledge of the great Old Masters such as Rubens, who undoubtedly had a great influence on his artistic style.

Other significant works by the artist include St Jean dans le Désert, in Nantes Cathedral, Perseus and Andromeda (1723), held by the Wallace Collection, Hercules and Omphale (1724), currently in the Louvre, Paris, and The Annunciation (1727) at Winchester College, a work previously on loan to the National Gallery.

Notes
Wakefield, David (1984). French Eighteenth-Century Painting. London: Gordon Fraser. pp. 42–43.

Rowell, Christopher (July 2019). "François Lemoyne, The Annunciation, 1727". In Foster, Richard (ed.). 50 Treasures from Winchester College. SCALA. p. 100.