Jean Daret. Painter to the King in Provence

1. View of the secular painting room at the Jean Daret exhibition in Aix-en-Provence
Photo: Didier Rykner

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More than forty years ago, in 1978, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille organised an exhibition devoted to 17th-century painting in Provence. Three artists stood out from the crowd: Reynaud Levieux, Nicolas Mignard and Jean Daret. Only the second [1] had been given a retrospective exhibition. So we can only applaud the Musée Granet’s initiative, which today focuses on the work of Jean Daret (ill. 1), while also presenting a few works by the other two, with whom he was sometimes close. We should add that a fourth painter from the south of France, Louis Finson, should soon see his work shown in Marseille in an exhibition that has been delayed but, at last count, is still on.

2. Jean Daret (1614-1668)
Lamentation, 1636
Oil on canvas - 149 x 155 cm
Marseille, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo: Didier Rykner

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The exhibition is arranged chronologically, providing a clearer understanding and appreciation of the artist. Like Philippe de Champaigne, who had a definite influence on his art, Daret was born in Brussels. His brother, Charles Daret, was also a painter (we know nothing about him) and his master was Antoon van Opstal, Gerard’s brother, a better-known sculptor, a founding member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and particularly active at Versailles. Curiously, although he clearly had a real career in Brussels, also training many painters, no work by Antoon van Opstal has been identified to date.
To complete the picture of the context in which Jean Daret evolved at the start of his career, we should also mention the importance of Pierre Daret, his first cousin and a famous engraver, who welcomed Jean when he arrived in Paris at the age of nineteen and introduced him to the artistic milieu of the capital. Lastly, a stay in Italy is likely but has never been documented, before his arrival in 1636 in Aix-en-Provence, the town where he spent his entire career, with the exception of a second Parisian sojourn that is also poorly known.

3. Jean Daret (1614-1668)
The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1640s
Oil on canvas - 110.5 x 145.6 cm
Clermont-Ferrand, Musée d’Art Roger-Quilliot
Photo: Didier Rykner

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Before turning to the exhibition itself, which is truly remarkable and should be visited by all lovers of early painting, let us say a word about the catalogue, to regret that it is not of the same quality. Its undeniable strong point is its concern for completeness: all the works shown, as well as those excluded from the exhibition for one reason or another, are reproduced. Although it also includes the prerequisites we usually stress, such as essays and notes on each of the works exhibited, unfortunately this is not always enough. This work, which will probably be the only book devoted to this artist for a…