Portrait of Philippe Coypel and His Wife

1742·Pastel on blue laid paper, pieced, laid down on canvas·90.5 × 73 cm (35 11/16 × 28 3/4 in.)

<p>Charles-Antoine Coypel served as First Painter to the King and was also a professor at, and eventually Director of, the French Academy. Part of a powerful artistic dynasty, he was a significant collector, an aesthetic theorist, playwright, and poet, and an amateur actor. Although many of his most important paintings have been lost, this unusual double portrait pastel probably commemorates the tenth anniversary of the artist's beloved brother, Philippe Coypel ( 1703-1777) and his wife Marie-Catherine Botet. A true tour-de-force, this work shows one of France's most esteemed public artists at his very best.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1742
Medium: Pastel on blue laid paper, pieced, laid down on canvas
Dimensions: 90.5 × 73 cm (35 11/16 × 28 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Charles-Antoine Coypel

Artist

Charles-Antoine Coypel

Painting

Charles-Antoine Coypel was a French painter, art critic, and playwright. He became court painter to the French king and director of the Académie Royale. He inherited from his father Antoine the title of Garde des tableaux et dessins du roi, a function which combined the role of director and curator of the king's art collection. He was mainly active in Paris.

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