Jacques Courtois
Jacques Courtois (also called 'il Borgognone' or Giacomo Borgognone) (1621 - May 20, 1676?) was a French painter.
Biography
Courtois was born in Saint-Hippolyte, near Besançon. His father was a painter, and Jacques studied with him until he was fifteen. In 1637, he went to Italy and was received in Milan by a Burgundian gentleman. For three years, he earned his living by being a soldier in the French military service, an experience that would later influence his work.
The sight of some battle pictures revived his taste for fine art. He went to Bologna and studied under the friendly tutelage of Guido Reni. Afterwards, he went to Rome where he painted "Miracle of the Loaves" in a Cistercian monastery. He took a house there, and after a while developed his own characteristic style of art, that of battle-painting, in which he excelled over all other older masters; his merits were cordially recognized by the celebrated Cerquozzi, named Michelangelo delle Battaglie.
He soon rose from penury to ease, and married a painter's daughter, Maria Vagini. She died after they were married for seven years. Prince Mattias de' Medici of Tuscany employed Courtois to paint some striking works in his villa, Lappeggio, representing the prince's military exploits with great historical accuracy. In Venice, the artist also executed some remarkable battle pieces for the senator Sagredo. In Florence, he entered the Society of Jesus, taking the habit in Rome in 1655; it was calumniously rumoured that he took this course in order to escape punishment for having poisoned his wife.
As a Jesuit Brother, Courtois painted many works in the society's churches and monasteries. He lived piously in Rome, and died there of apoplexy on May 20, 1676 (some accounts say 1670 or 1671).
Style
His style is rather unique, but it shows a peculiar mix between his native French school training and his adopted Italian school training. The pieces show some similar traits to the painter Danzig Pandolfo Reschi's work, who was his student, and his brother Guillaume, who also painted in Italy.
His battle scenes show a lot of movement and warm coloring (which have now darkened due to the passing of time) that differentiate his style from Salvator Rosa's, which show his great brush management skills. There are four paintings that show battles from a certain distance to show some perspective, and that also show great violence.
He painted many pieces during his lifetime, many of which he did not sign. His most respected paintings in the art market are the medium-sized pieces.
Bibliography
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.- Domenico Sedini, Jacques Courtois, online catalogue Artgate by Fondazione Cariplo, 2010, CC BY-SA.
- Marco Horak, A Piacenza una tela del "Borgognone" il maggior interprete di scene di battaglia in "L'Urtiga - Quaderni di cultura piacentina, anno 2013, n.3.
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