Édouard Pingret (1785-1869) - Portrait of Athanase Peltier

Édouard Henri Théophile PINGRET
(Saint-Quentin, 1785 – Paris, 1869)

Presumed portrait of Athanase Peltier in front of the Fort of Ham

Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower left
40.5 x 33cm
1835

Born in Saint-Quentin, in Aisne, on December 30, 1785, Edouard Pingret spent his youth in Paris where his father, Antoine-Adrien Pingret, a carpenter, had settled after being elected to the convention. Noticing the abilities of his son, Antoine-Adrien Pingret would have made him enter the studio of the painter Jacques-Louis David at the age of fourteen. Edouard Pingret then traveled to northern Italy and Rome where he trained at the Academia San-Luca and frequented the French artists resident at the Villa Medici. Returning from Italy, he entered as an assistant in the studio of Jean-Baptiste Regnault in Paris, then from 1822 to 1829, he was mentioned as a drawing teacher at the Royal School of Drawing in Saint-Quentin, his hometown. . Present at the Paris Salon from 1810, he quickly became known as a painter of portraits, historical and genre scenes. He was also rewarded with the gold medal in 1831 and the Legion of Honor in the process. When in 1833, Louis-Philippe decided to transform the Palace of Versailles into a Museum of the History of France, on the strength of his friendly relations with the Prince de Joinville and the Duke of Aumale, two of the king's sons, Pingret obtained a commission of fourteen paintings on historical subjects and intended to appear in the renovated rooms. Pingret was then a fashionable, famous painter. He presented his paintings in the various annual Salons until 1844. The collections of lithographs made it possible to widely distribute his works. It is fashionable to go to his studio, orders – especially portraits, flow. “M. Pingret’s studio is one of the most elegant in Paris; it is one of the funniest and neatest. It's a real artist's room. Boulle furniture, sculpted chairs, marvelous sideboards, sideboards, wooden chests twisted into spirals or figures, Venetian mirrors with strangely curved frames, exotic curiosities adorn it, but do not encumber it. It's not a mess, it's an art. » Visits to the Paris workshops: M. Pingret and Villain by Alfred de Martonne in La Renaissance: chronicle of the Fine Arts, literature and archaeological review of Belgium. Brussels, 1846-1847, p. 165-167. But the year 1848 marks a break: with the revolution and the flight of Louis-Philippe and his entourage to England, Pingret loses his connections in the circles of power. Orders for paintings are scarce and his income is collapsing. In 1850, from England where he was in exile, the Prince de Joinville asked him to go to Mexico to try to save the shares he owned in the Compagnie de Transport Maritime Americaine, of which he was the majority shareholder under the name of loan. Pinret accepts. Leaving his wife Victoire Brouet in Paris, he packed his bags, taking many paintings with him with the idea of making new customers there and relaunching his business. Arrived in Mexico, he finds a certain number of acquaintances who introduce him to large landowners and wealthy merchants. Thanks to this new clientele, he can restart a career as a portrait painter. Following the civil war that started in 1853, Pingret took advantage of a repatriation convoy to return to France in 1855. Édouard Pingret died on July 3, 1869 in Paris.

Museums: Paris (Army Museum), London (Wellcom Collection), Versailles, Nice…

Jean Charles Athanase Peltier was born in Ham on February 22, 1785. Alongside Michael Faraday, Joseph Fourier and James Thomson (the father of William Thomson, Lord Kelvin), to name but a few, Athanase Peltier is among the many examples of 19th century scientists who, starting from scratch at birth, have, through their hard work, left their names to posterity. In 1834 he discovered the calorific effect of electric current passing through the junction of two different metals, an effect which now bears his name. Athanase Peltier died in Paris on October 27, 1845.