Baugin, "Master Painter" in Paris
Documents show that Baugin, towards 1643, was finally recognised as a master in the Parisian painting guild, and was free to exercise the craft of painting in Paris. Hereafter he bore the title of "Master Painter in Paris and Painter in Ordinary to the King" and played an important rôle within the ancient guild. Together with his family, he moved to the heart of the capital, rue Saint-Antoine, in the parish of Saint-Paul. It was a period of great changes during which the artist's father died, as did his wife Brigitte Daste. In 1645, he married Anne Galland from Paris.
Now that he was able to sell freely, lead teams and conclude lucrative deals, his activity developed in every direction: large pictures for art lovers (the Ravissement d'Hélène for the Superintendant d'Emery), altarpieces for Paris and the provinces, and entire decorative schemes such as those of the chapelle de la congrégation des Nobles. This varied output contributed to a change in Baugin's style, in particular driving him towards a fuller style that he explored whilst producing large altarpieces and which can be seen emerging in works such as l'Adoration du veau d'or.
|
