Peindre à Paris à l'aube du Grand Siècle, 1590-1620

Between the refinement of the Fontainebleau school and Richelieu's great taste, French painting from 1590 to 1620 was long misunderstood by art history. Deemed archaic due to its attachment to Mannerism and perceived as foreign because of its sensitivity to talents from Northern Europe, it was often considered a laborious interlude at the dawn of the Grand Siècle.

This book challenges this view and reveals the artistic richness of the French capital, which was in full swing during the reign of Henry IV and the regency of Marie de Medici. Walking through the streets, entering the painters' shops, browsing the stalls at fairs, visiting small parish churches or the great Notre-Dame cathedral, it offers a glimpse, in the light of recent discoveries, of the sumptuous décor of the Louvre and Tuileries palaces and a world of extraordinary diversity, jealous of its traditions but a melting pot of innovation, where artists from all over Europe came together.

A dictionary of some 300 painters active in Paris during this period of proliferation completes this study and highlights, alongside the most renowned (Dubreuil, Fréminet, Pourbus and Varin), the lesser-known artists of this abundant production.