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The Fair of Saint-Germain
  • Date: 1763
  • Object Type: Miniature
  • Medium: Painted on vellum
  • Image size: 6 x 8 cm
  • Frame size: 8.3 x 10.3 cm
  • Inv: M17
  • Location: Boudoir Cabinet
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Description
Provenance
Marks/Inscriptions
Further Reading
  • Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberghe’s ‘Fair of St-Germain’ ranks amongst the most fascinating images of life in eighteenth-century Paris. Its shape and size suggest that it was originally mounted on the lid or bottom of an oval gold box. That the miniature was reused and later framed as an independent work testifies to its extraordinary quality, and its attractiveness to later collectors.

    The fair of St-Germain, held annually between February and Easter Sunday, was one of the oldest and most popular fairs in Paris. It was housed in semi-permanent buildings where textiles, paintings and other fashionable and luxury goods were among the items on sale. It developed into a centre for the theatre and was crucial in the development of the Commedia dell’arte. We now know that in this image, the theatre is given particular prominence.

    A great fire destroyed the fair’s installations during the night of 16 March 1762, the year before van Blarenberghe painted the miniature. From late 1762, It was quickly rebuilt as a different structure and reopened by 3 February 1763 when a first theatre performance was given. Until recently, there was some uncertainty as to whether van Blarenberghe’s miniature commemorates the old (destroyed) interior of the fair, or the new one that replaced it. It now been established that not only does it represent the building before the fire, when it was covered by a large timber roof, but also that it offers a view of an exact location in the fair. A small detail, the ‘Nicolet’ sign over the grand pedimented doorway in the centre of the image tells us that this is the entrance to the Nicolet theatre, in front of which a dense crowd has gathered. Through the adjacent glass door on the right, we are offered a glimpse of a puppet show taking place under the stage; the banner hanging above the hall on the upper right of the miniature identifies it as a production by the leading family of puppeteers and theatrical producers, established by Nicolas Bienfait I. This fascinating image offers a very rare glimpse into commercial enterprise in eighteenth-century France: the picture dealers’ stall in the upper left, the parasol seller below, as well as the threatical performances.

    Very few miniatures of theatre scenes and public entertainment can be securely attributed to Louis-Nicolas. Several more were painted when he apparently worked with his son between 1769 and 1778, but they constitute a small fraction of their overall output and are remarkably rare. ‘The Fair of Saint-Germain’ is the masterpiece of the genre.