Nicolas Tournier, 1590 Montbéliard – um 1657 Toulouse,... Lot n° 277

ESAU SELLS HIS FIRST BIRTH RIGHT TO JAKOB Oil on canvas. 76 x 126 cm. Verso old printed sticker ".ESPOSIZIONE NATIONALE DI BELLE ARTI - 1880", handwritten entered the exhibition number, named as "Autore" "Scuola Italiana" with signatures. The high quality of the painting, both in terms of composition and fine painting execution, makes it not difficult to classify the work in the oeuvre of the artist. Obviously, the Caravaggism, that chiaroscuro view, which is a main characteristic of the painter, is shown here. He found this style of painting during his seven-year stay in Rome - 1619 to 1626 - as a student of Valentine, also influenced by Bartolomeo Manfredi. Unlike the Italian Caravaggists, however, Tournier shows an accentuated elegance in postures, but also in the rendering of color gradations. Tournier worked in Carcassonne in 1627 and in Toulouse from 1632. Along with Vouet, Régnier and de Boulogne, he is considered one of the leading French carravaggists. Tournier used his own psychological interpretation of the old biblical theme, described in the 1st Book of Moses. The twin brothers Jacob and Esau, sons of Jacob and Rebekah, were visibly different. The firstborn Esau, with rough skin, wild and impetuous, had become a hunter, uninterested in social prestige. He offered his younger twin brother Jacob the right of the firstborn in return for a dish of lentils. The moment of Esau's offer to Jacob the painter has excitingly put into the picture. As if asking, Esau holds out his hand, while Jacob, almost surprised, points the fingers of his hand to his chest, so to speak, to see if Esau really wants to give him the birthright and the right of the tribe. At the table the bowl with the lentil dish stands. The appearance of Esau shown here, with naked upper body, hunting horn and hunting bag, leaning on a staff, stands in striking contrast to the almost lordly dress of Jacob, who is already depicted here as capable of assuming the role of tribal government in the future. This distribution of roles is also emphasized by the lighting direction. Jacob's face is brightly illuminated, while Esau's is shadowed. The staff and the illumination of the back, probably through an open door, leave no doubt that Esau will go back to his wild world of hunting. A.R. (†) Provenance: Sotheby's, London, December 6, 2018, lot 180. Note: Important French painter of the Caravaggio succession. The painter's Italian style is explained by his stay in Rome between 1619 and 1626, after which he then moved to southern France. In 1627 he was in Carcassonne and from 1632 in Toulouse. Along with Simon Vouet (1590-1649), Valentin de Boulogne (1594-1632) and Nicolas Régnier (1590-1667), he is considered one of the leading French caravaggists. According to some sources, he studied with Valentin, but was influenced by the caravaggist Bartolomeo Manfredi (c. 1580-c. 1620). Works of his hand in the Louvre, Toulouse, Prado and Hermitage, but also in museums in the USA. An exhibition dedicated to the painter was held in Toulouse in 2001. Literature: Cf. Nicolas Tournier. 1590-1639. Un peintre caravagesque, exhibition catalog, Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, March 29-July 1, 2001, Paris/ Toulouse 2001. Cf. Pascal-François Bertrand et. al, Nicolas Tournier. Et la peinture caravagesque en Italie, en France et en Espagne, conference proceedings, Toulouse 2020. (1290149) (11) Nicolas Tournier, 1590 Montbéliard - ca. 1657 Toulouse, attributed ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB Oil on canvas. 76 x 126 cm. Old printed label on the reverse "ESPOSIZIONE NATIONALE DI BELLE ARTI - 1880" with handwritten exhibition number, "Scuola Italiana" named as "Autore" with signatures. The high quality of the painting, both in terms of the composition and the execution in fine painting, makes it easy to attribute it to the artist's oeuvre. (†) Provenance: Sotheby's, London, 6 December 2018, lot 180. Literature: cf. Nicolas Tournier. 1590-1639. Un peintre caravagesque, exhibition catalog, Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, 29 March - 1 July 2001, Paris/ Toulouse 2001. cf. Pascal-François Bertrand et. al, Nicolas Tournier. Et la peinture caravagesque en Italie, en France et en Espagne, Conference transcript, Toulouse 2020.