Charles de Marquertel de Saint-Evremond (1613-1703)
Jacques Parmentier (Paris 1658 – London 1730)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1701 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
742 x 620 mm
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Knole, Kent
NT 129867
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Charles de Marquertel de Saint-Evremond (1613-1703) by Jacques Parmentier (Paris 1658 – London 1730), signed and dated 1701. A painted oval half-length portrait of an elderly man, turned slightly to the right, gazing at the spectator, a wen between his eyebrows, wearing a black cap, his grey hair seen at the sides, a white neckloth with the ends tucked in and furred edges of his dark brown robe crossed in front, dark brown background. Another version of this portrait is at Lyme Park (NT), on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London. After a distinguished and loyal career in his native France, Saint-Evremond was forced into exile on the discovery of his witty Letter to Crequi on the Peace of the Pyrenees. From 1661 until his death he lived almost entirely in England the life of a wit and courtier. He was on good terms with his fellow-exile, the Comte de Grammont, and for twenty years he put himself entirely at the service of the Duchess of Mazarin who was at Court to counteract the influence of the Duchess of Portsmouth. Much of his prose and verse were written for her instruction. This portrait of him was painted after he had been in England for about a decade; the distinctive growth on his forehead is a wen.
Provenance
On loan from the Trustees of the Sackville Estate
Credit line
Knole, The Sackville Collection
Makers and roles
Jacques Parmentier (Paris 1658 – London 1730), publisher
References
Ingamells, 2009: John Ingamells, Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2009, p.243