Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1672) was born in Brussels, Netherlands (now in Belgium). He was a painter and a teacher of the French school and is noted for his penetrating and restrained portraits, and for his religious paintings. Philippe got his training under Jacques Fouquier and others. He arrived in Paris in 1621 and four years later got employment with Nicolas Poussin to decorate the Luxembourg Palace under the direction of Nicolas Duchesne, the French painter.
Philippe De Champaigne progressed rapidly under the queen mother Marie de Medicis and in 1628 he succeeded the Duchesne in the position of the court painter. He also enjoyed success under the patronage of King Louis XIII, Jules Cardinal Mazarin, and cardinal de Richelieu. His most masterful portrait was of the powerful French figure which showed the subject standing in his cardinal’s robes. He also decorated a gallery for Richelieu in the Palais Royal.
Over his lifetime, Philippe produced many works for various churches and places. He became involved with an ascetic sect called Jansenism in 1643 and rejected many Baroque conventions. His portraits demonstrate understanding of and his sensitivity toward the subjects; his paintings became more austere and simplified.
Philippe De Champaigne’s strongest works are the lifelike and natural psychological portraits he produced of eminent contemporaries such as Cardinal Mazarin, Jean Baptiste Colbert, Jansenist Omer Talon, and Jacques Lemercier. His works are characterized by monumental conception of the figures, brilliant sense of colours, and a sober use of composition. Philippe’s work was influenced by Sir Anthony van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens.
