Vincent Voiture as St. Louis
- Depicted
- Vincent Voiture, French, 1597–1648
- Date
- mid-17th century
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- European Art to 1800
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 26 3/4 x 22 3/8 in. (68 x 56.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 719:1961
NOTES
The Crown of Thorns and the scepter adorned with a fleur-de-lis identify the subject of this painting as King Louis IX who became Saint Louis. The specific facial features, however, are those of the poet Vincent Voiture (1597–1648). Voiture commissioned this portrait as a gift for his daughter to have while she was in a convent. Substituting his face for that of the saint bypassed convent rules which only permitted religious, not secular, images. Choosing Saint Louis as the guise in which Voiture would be presented testifies to the continuing popularity of Saint Louis. The prominent position of the Crown of Thorns also indicates the celebrity of its acquisition by the king.
Provenance
1939 - 1940
Jacques Combe, Paris France, and François-Gérard Seligmann (1912-1999), Paris, France (owned jointly), purchased from a sale at Hotel Drouot, 1939 [1]
1940/07
The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), Paris, France, confiscated from Jacques Seligmann, Paris, France, and taken to the German Embassy, Paris, France [2]
1940 - 1945
German National Socialist (Nazi) government, held at the German Embassy and the Jeu de Paume, Paris, France, then transferred to the Lager Peter, Altausee, Austria [3]
1945/6/23 - 1946/6/25
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program of the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies, arrived from Lager Peter, Altaussee, Austria to the Munich Central Collecting Point, Munich, Germany, then repatriated to Paris, France [4]
1946/10/22
Restituted from Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program to the Seligmann Family [5]
by 1950 - still in 1960
Jacques Combe and Gersel Corporation, New York, NY (owned jointly), transferred from François-Gerard Seligmann [6]
by 1961-
J. H. Masui, Paris, France
1961 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at auction, “Important Pictures by Old Masters,” Christie’s, London, November 24, 1961, lot no. 61 [7]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is correspondence and other documents from the Jacques Seligmann & Co. records [Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to a letter from Jacques Combe to Germain Seligmann dated March 12, 1951, Combe and François-Gérard Seligmann purchased the painting from a small sale at Hotel Drouot in 1939 [photocopy, SLAM document files].
[2] The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), the Nazi party organization headed by Alfred Rosenberg, was dedicated to the plunder of cultural valuables in Nazi-occupied countries during World War II. In France, the ERR operated in Paris from 1940 to 1944, and confiscated the cultural property of French Jewish and Belgium families and other “enemies” of the Nazi party. During the summer of 1940, the ERR seized several collections owned by prominent dealers and collectors, such as the Seligmann brothers, George Wildenstein, and Paul Rosenberg. The initial group of seized property was first taken to the German Embassy to be inventoried. It was then transferred to several rooms at the Louvre, before storage space became insufficient. By the end of October 1940, the ERR took control of the Jeu de Paume building in the Tuileries Garden, where the looted property was transferred and stored. The ERR created record cards for the looted property, including the collection owner’s names and alphanumeric codes to identify specific objects. At the end of the war, the Allies recovered the records created by the ERR and used them to identify and restitute the property.
According to a record card from the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), the painting is listed as inventory number “Sel. 76” and in the possession of Jacques Seligmann at the time it was confiscated. It is identified as “Idealportraet Königs Ludwig IX [IV] des Heiligen kit der Dornenkrone” by Philippe de Champeigne [photocopy of ERR Card for Sel. 76, SLAM document files]. Although the painting is erroneously listed as belonging to Jacques Seligmann, it is known that the property of the gallery, as well the Seligmann family’s personal collections, were taken during the Nazi occupation of Paris in July 1940.
[3] By November 1940, the painting was transferred from the German Embassy to the Jeu de Paume [See note 2]. The painting was transferred eventually to the ERR art repository codenamed “Lager Peter” in the salt mines of Altaussee, Austria. [Cultural Plunder by the Einstatzstab Reichleiter Rosenberg: Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, http://errproject.org, accessed December 1, 2015].
[4] According to a property card marked with the Munich number 377/Aussee 303/5, the painting was recovered from the salt mines of Altausee, Austria, and arrived at the Munich Central Collecting Point on June 23, 1945, and assigned the number "377/5". The same property card indicates that the painting was repatriated to France on June 25, 1946. [Bundesarchiv B323/648, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin; photocopy, SLAM document files].
The custody receipt on restitution to France from the Munich Administrative records verifies that the painting was included in the shipment sent to France on June 25, 1946. The painting is recorded as item number 531. [Custody Receipts on Restitution to France records 642-685, Ardelia Hall Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland; photocopy, SLAM document files].
[5] The painting is presumed to be restituted to the Seligmann family based on the restituted date of November 22, 1946. [Cultural Plunder by the Einstatzstab Reichleiter Rosenberg: Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, http://errproject.org, accessed July 1, 2016]. Additionally, the painting is known to have been restituted to the Seligmann family via correspondence from 1950 [see note 6].
[6] According to a letter from Germain Seligman to Jacques Combe dated September 18, 1950, the half-share of the painting belonging to François-Gérard Seligmann, the half-brother of Germain Seligmann, transferred to himself. With the transfer, the painting became property of the Gersel Corporation, a subsidiary of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. The stock book from the Gersel Corporation confirms the joint ownership of the painting, stock number 7559, between the corporation at Jacques Combe [photocopies, SLAM document files].
[7] See the auction catalog [“Important Pictures by Old Masters,” Christie’s, London, November 24, 1961, lot no. 61]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 18, 1961.
Jacques Combe, Paris France, and François-Gérard Seligmann (1912-1999), Paris, France (owned jointly), purchased from a sale at Hotel Drouot, 1939 [1]
1940/07
The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), Paris, France, confiscated from Jacques Seligmann, Paris, France, and taken to the German Embassy, Paris, France [2]
1940 - 1945
German National Socialist (Nazi) government, held at the German Embassy and the Jeu de Paume, Paris, France, then transferred to the Lager Peter, Altausee, Austria [3]
1945/6/23 - 1946/6/25
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program of the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies, arrived from Lager Peter, Altaussee, Austria to the Munich Central Collecting Point, Munich, Germany, then repatriated to Paris, France [4]
1946/10/22
Restituted from Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program to the Seligmann Family [5]
by 1950 - still in 1960
Jacques Combe and Gersel Corporation, New York, NY (owned jointly), transferred from François-Gerard Seligmann [6]
by 1961-
J. H. Masui, Paris, France
1961 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at auction, “Important Pictures by Old Masters,” Christie’s, London, November 24, 1961, lot no. 61 [7]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is correspondence and other documents from the Jacques Seligmann & Co. records [Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to a letter from Jacques Combe to Germain Seligmann dated March 12, 1951, Combe and François-Gérard Seligmann purchased the painting from a small sale at Hotel Drouot in 1939 [photocopy, SLAM document files].
[2] The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), the Nazi party organization headed by Alfred Rosenberg, was dedicated to the plunder of cultural valuables in Nazi-occupied countries during World War II. In France, the ERR operated in Paris from 1940 to 1944, and confiscated the cultural property of French Jewish and Belgium families and other “enemies” of the Nazi party. During the summer of 1940, the ERR seized several collections owned by prominent dealers and collectors, such as the Seligmann brothers, George Wildenstein, and Paul Rosenberg. The initial group of seized property was first taken to the German Embassy to be inventoried. It was then transferred to several rooms at the Louvre, before storage space became insufficient. By the end of October 1940, the ERR took control of the Jeu de Paume building in the Tuileries Garden, where the looted property was transferred and stored. The ERR created record cards for the looted property, including the collection owner’s names and alphanumeric codes to identify specific objects. At the end of the war, the Allies recovered the records created by the ERR and used them to identify and restitute the property.
According to a record card from the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), the painting is listed as inventory number “Sel. 76” and in the possession of Jacques Seligmann at the time it was confiscated. It is identified as “Idealportraet Königs Ludwig IX [IV] des Heiligen kit der Dornenkrone” by Philippe de Champeigne [photocopy of ERR Card for Sel. 76, SLAM document files]. Although the painting is erroneously listed as belonging to Jacques Seligmann, it is known that the property of the gallery, as well the Seligmann family’s personal collections, were taken during the Nazi occupation of Paris in July 1940.
[3] By November 1940, the painting was transferred from the German Embassy to the Jeu de Paume [See note 2]. The painting was transferred eventually to the ERR art repository codenamed “Lager Peter” in the salt mines of Altaussee, Austria. [Cultural Plunder by the Einstatzstab Reichleiter Rosenberg: Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, http://errproject.org, accessed December 1, 2015].
[4] According to a property card marked with the Munich number 377/Aussee 303/5, the painting was recovered from the salt mines of Altausee, Austria, and arrived at the Munich Central Collecting Point on June 23, 1945, and assigned the number "377/5". The same property card indicates that the painting was repatriated to France on June 25, 1946. [Bundesarchiv B323/648, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin; photocopy, SLAM document files].
The custody receipt on restitution to France from the Munich Administrative records verifies that the painting was included in the shipment sent to France on June 25, 1946. The painting is recorded as item number 531. [Custody Receipts on Restitution to France records 642-685, Ardelia Hall Archives, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland; photocopy, SLAM document files].
[5] The painting is presumed to be restituted to the Seligmann family based on the restituted date of November 22, 1946. [Cultural Plunder by the Einstatzstab Reichleiter Rosenberg: Database of Art Objects at the Jeu de Paume, http://errproject.org, accessed July 1, 2016]. Additionally, the painting is known to have been restituted to the Seligmann family via correspondence from 1950 [see note 6].
[6] According to a letter from Germain Seligman to Jacques Combe dated September 18, 1950, the half-share of the painting belonging to François-Gérard Seligmann, the half-brother of Germain Seligmann, transferred to himself. With the transfer, the painting became property of the Gersel Corporation, a subsidiary of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. The stock book from the Gersel Corporation confirms the joint ownership of the painting, stock number 7559, between the corporation at Jacques Combe [photocopies, SLAM document files].
[7] See the auction catalog [“Important Pictures by Old Masters,” Christie’s, London, November 24, 1961, lot no. 61]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, December 18, 1961.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.