{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"La Tribune de l’Art","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com","title":"A La Hyre for the St\u00e4del Museum","author_name":"Alexandre Lafore","width":"800","height":"600","url":"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/a-la-hyre-for-the-stadel-museum","html":"\u003Ch4 class='title'\u003E\u003Ca href='https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/a-la-hyre-for-the-stadel-museum'\u003EA La Hyre for the St\u00e4del Museum\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cblockquote class='spip'\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlready home to two major seventeenth-century French paintings \u2014 Claude Lorrain\u2019s \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/sammlung.staedelmuseum.de\/en\/work\/christ-appears-in-front-of-mary-magdalene\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003ENoli me tangere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E and, more importantly, the largest \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/sammlung.staedelmuseum.de\/en\/work\/landscape-during-a-thunderstorm-with-pyramus-and-thisbe\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003Elandscape\u003C\/a\u003E ever painted by Nicolas Poussin \u2014 the German museum has recently set its sights on another prominent artist of the period: Laurent de La Hyre! Acquired with the support of the St\u00e4delscher Museums-Verein, the museum\u2019s friends association, this painting (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 1) is one of the many variations on a theme dear to the artist: \u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E! It reappeared at auction in Moulins in September 2017, where it was purchased by the Parisian art dealer \u00c9ric Coatalem, who restored it, studied it, and subsequently exhibited it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76422 spip_documents spip_documents_center'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/la_hyre_coatalem_francfort.jpg?76422\/544a39c63af53a287b3b71895c725b9c40e7d7383b3f9db25764ba6c39df7eac\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L379xH500\/la_hyre_coatalem_francfort-5d397.jpg' width='379' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76422 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:350px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E1. Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, c. 1650\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on canvas \u2013 58.4 \u00d7 44 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nFrankfurt, St\u00e4del Museum\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: Galerie Eric Coatalem\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most important \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/collections.louvre.fr\/ark:\/53355\/cl010061814\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003EAssumption\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E by Laurent de La Hyre remains, of course, the 1635 canvas (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 2) commissioned for the high altar of the Capuchin convent church on the rue Saint-Honor\u00e9, now housed in the Louvre and long considered the artist\u2019s most famous work. This composition \u2014 nowadays perhaps too seldom looked at in the museum galleries \u2014 undoubtedly contributed to the rise of La Hyre\u2019s Parisian career. He subsequently painted two Mays for Notre-Dame\u003Cspan class=\"spip_note_ref\"\u003E [\u003Ca href=\"#nb1\" class=\"spip_note\" rel=\"appendix\" title=\"Still kept in the cathedral, they were recently restored and featured in the (\u2026)\" id=\"nh1\"\u003E1\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/span\u003E in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.notredamedeparis.fr\/comprendre\/peintures\/st-pierre-guerissant-des-malades-de-son-ombre\/\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003E1635\u003C\/a\u003E and in \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.notredamedeparis.fr\/comprendre\/peintures\/la-conversion-de-saint-paul\/\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003E1637\u003C\/a\u003E. La Hyre also produced two other large altarpieces on the same subject, known through historical sources but now lost: one adorned Soissons Cathedral until the First World War, the other was kept at the Quinze-Vingts hospital until the French Revolution \u2014 both seemingly swept away by the upheavals of history, despite their large scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76451 spip_documents spip_documents_center'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/assomption_louvre_la_hyre_1989.jpg?76451\/e21ccfc83e23e27744c6384e0d2b37b3845b8a2865843cc0f8b4f479da1265c8\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L330xH500\/assomption_louvre_la_hyre_1989-0b119.jpg' width='330' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76451 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:330px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E2. Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, 1635\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on canvas \u2013 425 \u00d7 368 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nParis, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: RMN-GP\/G. Blot\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a rather blatant \u003Ci\u003Epro domo\u003C\/i\u003E claim, the St\u00e4del Museum\u2019s press release suggests that La Hyre may have drawn inspiration from Guido Reni\u2019s \u003Ci\u003EAssumption\u003C\/i\u003E, featured in the recent retrospective (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/guido-reni-le-divin\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E) and acquired a decade ago (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/un-cuivre-de-guido-reni-et-un-dessin-de-degas-acquis-par-le-stadel-museum\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Enews item from 28\/1\/15\u003C\/a\u003E). Yet the comparison with that painting (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 3) mostly serves to highlight how different the two works are \u2014 beyond their shared quality! The artist likely had other sources in mind, starting with his own earlier compositions, which scholars enjoy comparing in terms of spatial organisation, figure placement, and the role of the tomb. While the painting now in Frankfurt may well be a sketch for a large-scale work that was never realised (or has since been lost), the sheer number of La Hyre\u2019s variations on this theme \u2014 especially towards the end of his career \u2014 clearly shows how popular both subject and treatment were among Parisian collectors.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76453 spip_documents spip_documents_center'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/francfort_assomption_guido_reni.jpg?76453\/ce192f622053192285d240c509229bfea4f3cd41b4c15a95e8e9b70e45ba8c9c\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L376xH500\/francfort_assomption_guido_reni-39746.jpg' width='376' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76453 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:350px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E3. Guido Reni (1575-1642)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, c. 1598\u20131599\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on copper \u2013 58 \u00d7 44.4 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nFrankfurt, St\u00e4del Museum\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: St\u00e4del Museum\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether \u003Ci\u003Emodelli\u003C\/i\u003E or \u003Ci\u003Ericordi\u003C\/i\u003E, these successful paintings have gradually entered major collections, beginning with the Gem\u00e4ldegalerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which has owned an \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.khm.at\/en\/artworks\/himmelfahrt-mariae-996-1\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003EAssumption of the Virgin\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 4) since 1807, acquired along with the holdings of painter Johann Josef Langenh\u00f6ffel. French audiences are likely more familiar with the version (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 5) from the Motais de Narbonne collection, first shown at the Louvre in spring 2010 (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/la-collection-motais-de-narbonne-tableaux-francais-et-italiens-des-xviie-et-xviiie-siecles-2507-2507\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E) and then at the Mus\u00e9e des Beaux-Arts in Orl\u00e9ans in 2018\u20132019 (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/de-vouet-a-boucher-au-coeur-de-la-collection-motais-de-narbonne-7466\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E), and studied respectively by Pierre Rosenberg and C\u00f4me Rombout in the catalogues accompanying those exhibitions. Finally, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/collections.lacma.org\/node\/201956\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003Eanother version\u003C\/a\u003E (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 6) once belonged to the dealer Andrzej Ciechanowiecki and was donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art by the Ahmanson Foundation in 2000. Sadly, it now languishes in storage. According to Pierre Rosenberg, the differences between those three versions are negligible \u2014 whereas the Frankfurt painting clearly stands apart.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76435 spip_documents spip_documents_left'\n\tstyle='float:left;'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/laurent_de_la_hyre_assomptio_khm_wien.jpg?76435\/432d93f942fd1cd56ac0a1b0c9037d62e1db364e0f2025e1db2e31565f362147\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L334xH500\/laurent_de_la_hyre_assomptio_khm_wien-98d73.jpg' width='334' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76435 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:334px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E4. Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, c. 1650\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on canvas \u2013 78 \u00d7 53 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nVienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76450 spip_documents spip_documents_right'\n\tstyle='float:right;'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/la_hyre_l._l_assomption_de_la_vierge_-_copie.jpg?76450\/9aaf746a5339e86429bec6cdf2886c94635185f904c895dabe139484016e3355\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L360xH500\/la_hyre_l._l_assomption_de_la_vierge_-_copie-4faf7.jpg' width='360' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76450 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:350px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E5. Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, c. 1653\u20131655\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on canvas \u2013 50.5 \u00d7 60.4 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nParis, Motais de Narbonne Collection\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: Christophe Camus\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile the tomb occupies a central position in the three other canvases, it seems almost relegated to the background in the Frankfurt painting, becoming anecdotal despite being a structural element. The division between the two compositional groups varies slightly from one version to another \u2014 the Virgin, accompanied by numerous angels, appears in the heavens, while the Apostles often fill the foreground. As C\u00f4me Rombout pointed out in 2018, the two scenes are juxtaposed but do not intermingle \u2014 post-Tridentine catechism strongly emphasised the separation between the celestial and the earthly realms. Ideally, the different versions should be displayed side by side to allow for a better assessment of their merits. The available photographs do little justice to the paintings in Vienna and Los Angeles, so our judgement is limited to those in Frankfurt and Paris, whose colours are not particularly vivid. In Frankfurt, the foreground is conspicuously occupied by a mound of earth that has no real purpose \u2014 unless it was intended as a \u003Ci\u003Emodello\u003C\/i\u003E for an altarpiece incorporating an object, perhaps a tabernacle, that would obscure this section of the canvas.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\u003Cdl class='spip_document_76452 spip_documents spip_documents_center'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"\u003E\n\t\u003Cdt\u003E\n\t\t\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/IMG\/jpg\/la_hyre_assomption_lacma.jpg?76452\/84f9a3164b423b57232dd0a7d628408347f38d94daa0ebfc8ecb66f205aef56a\" title='' type=\"image\/jpeg\"\u003E\n\t\t\t\u003Cimg src='local\/cache-vignettes\/L349xH500\/la_hyre_assomption_lacma-ab97d.jpg' width='349' height='500' alt=''  itemprop=\"contentUrl\" \/\u003E\n\t\t\u003C\/a\u003E\n\t\u003C\/dt\u003E\n\t\u003Cdd class='crayon document-descriptif-76452 spip_doc_descriptif' style='width:349px;'  itemprop=\"description\"\u003E6. Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656)\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThe Assumption of the Virgin\u003C\/i\u003E, c. 1653\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nOil on canvas \u2013 74.9 \u00d7 52.7 cm\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nLos Angeles County Museum of Art\u003Cbr class='autobr' \/\u003E\nPhoto: Los Angeles County Museum of Art\n\u003C\/dd\u003E\n\u003C\/dl\u003E\u003Chr class=\"spip\" \/\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn any case, this is a fine addition\u003Cspan class=\"spip_note_ref\"\u003E [\u003Ca href=\"#nb2\" class=\"spip_note\" rel=\"appendix\" title=\"Laurent de La Hyre was, however, already represented in the St\u00e4del Museum\u2019s (\u2026)\" id=\"nh2\"\u003E2\u003C\/a\u003E]\u003C\/span\u003E to the German museum, which discreetly hung the painting this Monday opposite Guido Reni\u2019s \u003Ci\u003EAssumption\u003C\/i\u003E (\u003Ci\u003Eill.\u003C\/i\u003E 3), of the same dimensions! On the gallery wall, the canvas may not immediately catch the viewer\u2019s eye, as it sits next to Poussin\u2019s monumental \u003Ci\u003EPyramus and Thisbe\u003C\/i\u003E, but La Hyre \u2014 still quite rare in German collections \u2014 will likely win over local art lovers soon enough. As Bastian Eclercy, the driving force behind the acquisition, told us, the museum sought to present a work evocative of the Parisian atticism for which the artist is the most distinguished representative. Two paintings by La Hyre returned to Paris in spring 2005 for the exhibition on French masterpieces in German collections (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/poussin-watteau-chardin-david-peintures-francaises-dans-les-collections-allemandes-xviie-xviiie\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E): the artist was then represented by his \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/agorha.inha.fr\/ark:\/54721\/f7b98eee-8847-42ac-a27d-eafaeb8eaab8\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003EHercules and Omphale\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E from Heidelberg and his \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/agorha.inha.fr\/ark:\/54721\/d260c918-37a5-4f52-8a5b-73474d03a91f\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003ERocky Landscape\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E from Cologne, both of which are discussed in the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/agorha.inha.fr\/ark:\/54721\/5\" class=\"spip_out\" rel=\"external\"\u003EREPFALL\u003C\/a\u003E, the R\u00e9pertoire des tableaux fran\u00e7ais en Allemagne (17th and 18th centuries), developed and hosted by the INHA. To conclude, let us recall that \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.latribunedelart.com\/spip.php?page=docbig&id_document=580&id_article=401\"\u003Ea preparatory drawing\u003C\/a\u003E for the 1635 \u003Ci\u003EAssumption\u003C\/i\u003E was identified twenty years ago in the Paul Fourch\u00e9 collection at the Mus\u00e9e des Beaux-Arts in Orl\u00e9ans (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/a-orleans-exposition-des-dessins-d-autres-ecoles-trouves-dans-le-fonds-italien\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Enews item from 5\/7\/04\u003C\/a\u003E) and was more recently exhibited at Port-Royal-des-Champs in 2018 during the \u201cTraits divins\u201d exhibition (see the \u003Ca href=\"..\/traits-divins-dessins-francais-du-musee-d-orleans-xviie-siecle\" class=\"spip_in\" hreflang=\"fr\"\u003Earticle\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n"}