A large unpublished drawing by Baptiste Pellerin purchased by the Musée du Louvre

3/2/25 - Acquisition - Paris, Musée du Louvre - ‘maître etienne’: this (old) inscription alone on the mounting of the previously unpublished artwork on paper is a reminder of the historiographical controversy cleared up ten years ago by a book of art history which brought about a veritable resurrection of an important figure in Parisian Renaissance art, as Henri Zerner put it in his preface to "Baptiste Pellerin et l’art parisien de la Renaissance". This artist had already been making a name for himself for some time under the name of Étienne Delaune, an outstanding engraver for whom he provided models. In the eyes of enthusiasts and specialists alike, Delaune had become a true French Cellini, an engraver, a draughtsman, a painter, a goldsmith and even an armourer! Three authors - Marianne Grivel, Guy-Michel Leproux and Audrey Nassieu Maupas - did their utmost to clear up this historiographical misunderstanding in their monograph, entitled "Baptiste Pellerin et l’art parisien de la Renaissance", which was published by Presses universitaires de Rennes [1] in March 2014. Apollo and the Muses, an elegant unpublished work (ill. 1), could have adorned the cover, but this large drawing was only recently rediscovered, identified and studied before being almost immediately acquired by the Department of Graphic Arts, through Nicolas Joly Art Conseil.

1. Baptiste Pellerin (documented from 1542 to his death in 1575)
Apollo and the Muses, design for a goldsmith’s cup, 1555
Pen, black ink and brown wash on wove paper - D. 36.8 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
Photo: Guillaume Benoit

See the image in its page

The great rarity of 16th-century French drawings makes this happy ending all the more appreciable, as the national collections are enriched by a fine drawing that has the even greater advantage of being - twice - dated 1555! It is worth recalling the pioneering roles of Valérie Auclair and George Wanklyn, who were the first to identify two works by…