Portrait of the Poet Charles-Pierre Colardeau

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Voiriot, Guillaume

Paris, 20/11/1712-Paris, 30/11/1799

Oil on canvas

73 x 59.2 cm

1771

Third quarter of the 18th century

69/240

Bequeathed by María de Arechavaleta, from the collection of José Palacio, in 1954

The French poet Charles-Pierre Colardeau (1732-1776), whose early death cut short a promising career, is portrayed half-length in the foreground of this composition, seated in an armchair. The poet is dressed in a red smock and wears a short powdered wig gathered by a grey ribbon, in the style of the day. The figure spontaneously turns his head, holding in his left hand some sheets of paper from the manuscript Lettre d'Héloïse à Abélard (Letter from Heloise to Abelard), his best and most well known poem written in 1758, an imitation in verse of the famous work of the same name written in 1716 by Alexander Pope that prefigures 18th-century pre-Romantic sensitivity.

Exhibited at the Parisian Salon of 1771, this work is a fine example of 18th-century French bourgeois portraiture and follows a model that was made popular by a number of painters, among which his famous compatriot Louis-Michel van Loo. Far from the affectedness of some portraits, Voiriot granted this work an intimate quality, rendering the figure in a natural way.

Guillaume was born into a family of artists, the son of the painter and sculptor Jean Voiriot. He was a member of the Roman Academy of Saint Luke and of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris, where he held several positions. Voiriot developed his artistic career during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI and the revolutionary period. Especially gifted for portraiture, his most prominent works in the genre were dedicated to Parisian literati, scientists, politicians and artists. (Ana Sánchez-Lassa)

Selected bibliography

Lasterra, Crisanto de. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : catálogo descriptivo : sección de arte antiguo. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1969. pp. 113, 114, 240. (Con el título Retrato del poeta Charles Pierre Colardeaur, y atribuido a VOIRIOT, Guillaume).
Bengoechea, Javier de. Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao. Bilbao, La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1978. p. 218.
Luna, Juan José. "Obra francesa del siglo XVIII en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Guía de Exposiciones, n° 46. 1985. s. p.
Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 78-79, n° cat. 23.
Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : maestros antiguos y modernos. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa = Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Fundazioa, 1999. p.136.
Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Maestros antiguos y modernos en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2001. p. 68.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 82.
Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 82.
Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 82.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 82, n° cat. 56.
Goya & Beethoven [Cat. exp.]. Thesalónica, Teloglion Foundation of Art, 2011. pp. 19-20. (Edición en griego)
Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 82, n° cat. 56.
Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 82.
Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 82.