Attributed to Nicolas Loir (Paris, 1624 - id.,... Lot 86

Attributed to Nicolas Loir (Paris, 1624 - id., 1679) Christ on the Cross with Saint Mary Magdalene Oil on canvas. Dim. 47x37 cm. In a modern molded and blackened wood frame. Dim. 53x43 cm Somewhat forgotten today, the painter-academician Nicolas Loir (Paris, 1624 - id., 1679) nevertheless produced a considerable body of work in France, especially in the religious field. On his return from Rome, this former pupil of Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671) produced, alongside major decorative commissions (notably for the Queen's apartments at the Château de Versailles), innumerable small easel paintings intended to nourish piety. For example, he produced a large number of Virgins with Child and Holy Families, many of which were engraved. Clearly, the Pietà and Christ on the Cross must have attracted his attention. We have thus identified in the art trade, under an attribution to Nicolas Mignard, a Christ on the Cross with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene (fig. 86b; see Fr. Marandet, "Nicolas Loir: œuvres inédites et classements erronés", Bulletin des Musées hongrois des Beaux-arts, 2020, n°125, p. 127-150). In the present case (fig. 86), Nicolas Loir's hand can be identified not only by the clearly recognizable type of the female face, but also by the pose of St. Mary Magdalene: her torso appears frontal, but the articulation of the legs at pelvis level is such that her silhouette appears almost square. This is exactly what we see with the personification of Painting, visible at the far right, in the painter's reception piece at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (fig. 86a; Musée du Château de Versailles). Our painting is probably dated around 1670, which corresponds to the peak of Nicolas Loir's production (his reception piece was submitted at a later date, in 1666). Note also that the Nicolas de Poilly sale of May 10, 1781, in Paris (Lugt 3269), lists, under no. 4, a painting designated as such: "Le Christ en croix avec la Madeleine expirante au pied, par Loyr [sic for Nicolas Loir]". Unfortunately, the dimensions are not specified, but it is probable that there were, if not an identity relationship, multiple similarities with the painting we are presenting here. Finally, we note the unfinished nature of our painting, which makes it a very rare example in Nicolas Loir's corpus (and this is the difference with Christ on the Cross with the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Mary Magdalene (fig. 86b), which is a modello). We would like to thank Mr. François Marandet for all the information he provided on this work.