GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In Nicolas Mignard’s painting, the crisp draperies, pure colors, and simple setting are perfect testimony to the Italian influence, particularly of the Bolognese school, on French art at the beginning of the 17th century. The shepherd Faustulus rescued twin babies Romulus and Remus, the future founders of Rome, after they were abandoned on the banks of the Tiber River. The scene depicts the moment when he presents the babies to his wife, who will become their adoptive mother. Mignard spent a large part of his career in the papal territory of Avignon in southern France, where he produced large religious compositions for churches and convents. This painting is among his few known secular subjects.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "The Shepherd Faustulus Bringing Romulus and Remus to his Wife," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 152.
NOTES
Created 1654
Checked Piction, TMS done.
The subject here is the shepherd Faustus, who has found two babies, Romulus and Remus, abandoned by their parents in the countryside around Rome and suckled by a she-wolf. The she-wolf can be seen in the background. Faustulus brings Romulus and Remus to his modest shepherd hut, where his mother and two sisters welcome him. The moral lesson is one of charity: a poverty-stricken shepherd lives in a simple hut, but the three women welcome these little foundlings with open arms—one literally with open arms, and another reaching for a jug of milk to feed the two babies. This is very typical as a kind of moral exemplar of French academic painting. The narrative, gestures, and expressions are very clear, and the way the canvas is painted does not distract from the message of the image. By contrast, the painting by Lemoyne is all about surface and sensuality; it’s totally, in a sense, an amoral work. (13-14)
Philip Conisbee, "Michael L. Rosenberg's Eighteenth Century," 11-23, in French Art of the Eigteenth Century: The Michael L. Rosenberg Lecture Series at the Dallas Museum of Art, Heather MacDonald ed. Dallas Museum of Art and the Michael L. Rosenberg Foundation, distributed by Yale University press, New Haven, CT, 2016.
Current label copy???- Mignard's painting is typical of the Italianate classicizing aesthetic that dominated 17th-century France, revealing the profound impact of the great master of the period, Nicolas Poussin. The subject derives from the Roman mythological fable of the twins...
Dorothy Kosinski, "The Shepherd Faustus Bringing Romulus and Remus to his Wife", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 82.
Mignard's painting is typical of the Italianate classicizing aesthetic that dominated seventeenth-century France. The subject itself is derived from the Roman myth of the twins Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf, saved by a shepherd, and survived to found the city of Rome. Mignard's depiction of the shepherd Faustulus handing the twins over to the care of his wife is characterized by precision and clarity. The figures, with their crisp gestures, distinct silhouettes, and skin aglow with a milky white light, have the appearance of a monumental classical marble relief. The dominant palette of primary colors, especially pure red and blue, is an indication of the profound impact of the great master of French classical baroque painting, Nicolas Poussin. Mignard's scene includes a fine bucolic landscape, and he does not neglect details such as the tender gestures, attentive gazes of man and beast, and two white doves which have alighted on the roof of the shepherd's hut. This painting, executed in Avignon where Mignard was active, is entirely consistent with the classical and idealizing tendencies favored in the France of Louis XIV, and is compelling testimony of the vitality of painting throughout France in the seventeenth century.
Credit line- Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
Artist/designers
Mignard, Nicolas (French, 1606-1668)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Avignon (inhabited place/France): TGN: 7667377
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Historical periods
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WEB RESOURCES
- The J. Paul Getty Museum~Read a biography of Nicolas MIgnard from the Getty.
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General Description
In Nicolas Mignard’s painting, the crisp draperies, pure colors, and simple setting are perfect testimony to the Italian influence, particularly of the Bolognese school, on French art at the beginning of the 17th century. The shepherd Faustulus rescued twin babies Romulus and Remus, the future founders of Rome, after they were abandoned on the banks of the Tiber River. The scene depicts the moment when he presents the babies to his wife, who will become their adoptive mother. Mignard spent a large part of his career in the papal territory of Avignon in southern France, where he produced large religious compositions for churches and convents. This painting is among his few known secular subjects.
Excerpt from
Bonnie Pitman, ed., "The Shepherd Faustulus Bringing Romulus and Remus to his Wife," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 152.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Created 1654
Checked Piction, TMS done.
The subject here is the shepherd Faustus, who has found two babies, Romulus and Remus, abandoned by their parents in the countryside around Rome and suckled by a she-wolf. The she-wolf can be seen in the background. Faustulus brings Romulus and Remus to his modest shepherd hut, where his mother and two sisters welcome him. The moral lesson is one of charity: a poverty-stricken shepherd lives in a simple hut, but the three women welcome these little foundlings with open arms—one literally with open arms, and another reaching for a jug of milk to feed the two babies. This is very typical as a kind of moral exemplar of French academic painting. The narrative, gestures, and expressions are very clear, and the way the canvas is painted does not distract from the message of the image. By contrast, the painting by Lemoyne is all about surface and sensuality; it’s totally, in a sense, an amoral work. (13-14)
Philip Conisbee, "Michael L. Rosenberg's Eighteenth Century," 11-23, in French Art of the Eigteenth Century: The Michael L. Rosenberg Lecture Series at the Dallas Museum of Art, Heather MacDonald ed. Dallas Museum of Art and the Michael L. Rosenberg Foundation, distributed by Yale University press, New Haven, CT, 2016.
Current label copy???- Mignard's painting is typical of the Italianate classicizing aesthetic that dominated 17th-century France, revealing the profound impact of the great master of the period, Nicolas Poussin. The subject derives from the Roman mythological fable of the twins...
Dorothy Kosinski, "The Shepherd Faustus Bringing Romulus and Remus to his Wife", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 82.
Mignard's painting is typical of the Italianate classicizing aesthetic that dominated seventeenth-century France. The subject itself is derived from the Roman myth of the twins Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf, saved by a shepherd, and survived to found the city of Rome. Mignard's depiction of the shepherd Faustulus handing the twins over to the care of his wife is characterized by precision and clarity. The figures, with their crisp gestures, distinct silhouettes, and skin aglow with a milky white light, have the appearance of a monumental classical marble relief. The dominant palette of primary colors, especially pure red and blue, is an indication of the profound impact of the great master of French classical baroque painting, Nicolas Poussin. Mignard's scene includes a fine bucolic landscape, and he does not neglect details such as the tender gestures, attentive gazes of man and beast, and two white doves which have alighted on the roof of the shepherd's hut. This painting, executed in Avignon where Mignard was active, is entirely consistent with the classical and idealizing tendencies favored in the France of Louis XIV, and is compelling testimony of the vitality of painting throughout France in the seventeenth century.
Credit line- Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated
Artist/designers
Mignard, Nicolas (French, 1606-1668)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Avignon (inhabited place/France): TGN: 7667377
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
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1970.25
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