Joseph Siffred Duplessis : le Van Dyck de la France

Exhibition at the Inguimbertine, Carpentras, 14 June – 28 September 2025

Nicknamed ‘the Van Dyck of France’ by an anonymous writer in 1781, painter Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725–1802) reigned supreme for almost twenty years. His talents as a portraitist earned him commissions from the royal family, the court, and the political, scientific, and cultural elites of the Kingdom of France. Although the Revolution deprived him of his clientele and put an end to his career as a painter, his talent was still recognised in the last years of the century. But very quickly, the memory of the French Van Dyck faded, until the work of Jules Belleudy, who in 1913 published the first monograph dedicated to the portraitist.

In this work, which is both an exhibition catalogue and a monograph, Xavier Salmon recalls the known works, including the majestic and imposing portrait of Louis XVI in coronation robes and the portrait of Benjamin Franklin that adorns American hundred-dollar bills, and reveals many previously unseen works. He lists nearly 200 paintings, including the 60 on display in Carpentras, from prestigious collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre Museum.