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Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie

French

BiographyBorn Paris, 16 June 1735; died Paris, 14 Sept 1784.

Painter and draughtsman, son of (1) Bernard Lépicié. He was taught engraving by his father before entering the studio of the painter Carle Vanloo. In 1759 he won second prize in the Prix de Rome competition at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, but he never went to Rome. He was approved (agréé) by the Académie Royale in 1764 on presentation of a vast painting of the Landing of William the Conqueror on the English Coast, which is now in the Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen. He subsequently painted a series of pictures for the above foundation, including the Baptism of Christ (1765) and Christ and the Little Children (1767; both in situ), as well as a Conversion of Saul (1767; untraced). In 1769 he was received (reçu) as a full member by the Académie Royale on presentation of Achilles and the Centaur Chiron (Troyes, Mus. B.-A. & Archéol.); he became an assistant professor in 1770 and a professor in 1777. His studio had a fine reputation, and several painters prominent in the Neo-classical generation trained there, including Carle Vernet, Jean-Baptiste Regnault, Jean-Joseph Taillasson and Henri-Pierre Danloux. His early success was doubtless facilitated by his father’s reputation and by the friendship of Charles-Nicolas Cochin II, who had succeeded Bernard Lépicié as Secrétaire Perpétuel to the Académie Royale in 1755 and owned at least five of Nicolas-Bernard’s works.

Lépicié was involved in major commissions for the Bâtiments du Roi, first under the Marquis de Marigny and then, from 1774, under Charles-Claude de Flahaut de la Billarderie, Comte d’Angiviller. For the Petit Trianon at Versailles he painted two works—Adonis Changed into an Anemone by Venus (exh. Salon 1769) and Narcissus Changed into a Flower (exh. Salon 1771; both in situ)—that recall the elegant, poetic style of Louis de Boullogne (ii). For the Ecole Militaire in Paris he depicted a subject from national history, St Louis Dispensing Justice (exh. Salon 1773; untraced). He was employed by Flahaut de la Billarderie to design large tapestry cartoons for the Gobelins, taking for his subjects scenes from ancient history. He also drew on ancient history in large-scale canvases such as the Courage of Portia (exh. Salon 1777; Lille, Mus. B.-A.), an exaltation of heroic death inspired by Nicolas Poussin’s Death of Germanicus (1628; Minneapolis, MN, Inst. A.); the Departure of Regulus (exh. Salon 1779; Carcassonne, Mus. B.-A.); the Piety of Fabius Dorso (exh. Salon 1781; Chartres, Mus. B.-A.); and the Zeal of Matathias (exh. Salon 1783; Tours, Mus. B.-A.). These paintings, which exemplify the moral virtues, reflect the character of a man who was, according to his contemporaries, both devout and scrupulous. Equally monumental were the numerous altarpieces he painted, including a Visitation for Bayonne Cathedral (1769) and a Deposition for Chalon-sur-Saône Cathedral (1779; both in situ).

Unlike most contemporary history painters, Lépicié also worked very successfully as a genre painter: his Fanchon Arising (Saint-Omer, Mus. Hôtel Sandelin) won a chorus of praise at the Salon of 1773. The verisimilitude of his characters and the silvery tone of his colours, which led to comparisons with David Teniers (1610–90), were much admired. Lépicié’s concern for realistic detail, precise drawing and delicate palette here take precedence over any obvious moral message: in the Departure of the Poacher (exh. Salon 1781; Roanne, Mus. Déchelelte) the allusion to the dubious virtue of the subject receives less consideration than the refinement of execution. In such scenes as the Interior of a Customs House (exh. Salon 1775; Lugano, Col. Thyssen-Bornemisza) Lépicié’s meticulous technique and his powers of observation recall the work of the Dutch masters of the 17th century, as well as that of contemporary Italian painters of vedute. Some of his portraits, for example Emilie Vernet as a Child (1769; Paris, Petit Pal.) and the Young Draughtsman, or Carle Vernet as a Child (exh. Salon 1779; Paris, Louvre), are genuine masterpieces—refined and subtle in their colouring yet quite without preciosity. The sensitive, serious character of the painter is apparent in two late self-portraits (exh. Salon 1777; Lisbon, Mus. Gulbenkian; Abbeville, Mus. Boucher-de-Perthes).

Despite his short life Lépicié left a large body of work: Gaston-Dreyfus included 562 paintings and drawings in his catalogue. The Musée du Louvre, Paris, among other French museums, has a large collection of his drawings, which range from studies for the history paintings to portrait heads (e.g. Head of a Young Man, red chalk; Grenoble, Mus. Grenoble) and genre scenes (e.g. Young Girl Holding up her Apron, sepia; Orléans, Mus. B.-A.).

Andrew McClellan, et al. "Lépicié." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T050494pg2 (accessed March 6, 2012).

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