Pierre II MIGNARD or Nicolas MIGNARD, known as Mignard d'Avignon (Avignon, 1640 - Paris, 1725 or Troyes, 1606 - Paris, 1668) Composition with vanity, vases and fruit Oval oil on canvas In its carved and gilded limewood frame, southern work of the Louis XIV period Composition with vanities, vases and fruits, oil on canvas, by P. II Mignard or Mignard d'Avignon 27.36 x 34.06 in. 69.5 x 86.5 x 0.0 cm Provenance: Wall decoration for a room in the Tonduti de l'Escarène mansion, Avignon ; Sold with all the decorations in the room when the hotel was sold in 1881, then reassembled at the Château de Valmatte, Haute-Vienne; Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 14 February 1962, no. 166; Galerie Pardo, Paris, 1979; Acquired from the latter by Gérald Nahmias; Gérald Nahmias Collection, Paris; Acquired from the latter by Galerie Eric Coatalem in 2013; Galerie Eric Coatalem, Paris; Acquired from the latter by the current owner's father; Private collection, Paris Exhibitions: Mignard et Girardon, Troyes, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 25 June-2 October 1955, p. 32, no. 46 Thèmes de l'âge classique, Paris, Galerie Pardo, 16 May-10 June 1989, p. 48-49 Tableaux français du XVIIe siècle, Paris, Galerie Eric Coatalem, 2013, p. 94-95 Bibliography: Michel Faré, Le Grand Siècle de la nature-morte en France, Paris-Fribourg, 1974, p. 235 and repr. p. 237 (as Nicolas Mignard and his workshop) Antoine Schnapper, Mignard d'Avignon (1606-1673), cat. exhibition, Avignon, Palais des papes, Marseille, 1979, p. 94, no. 65 H, repr. p. 102 (as Nicolas Mignard) Our vanitas composition, long attributed to Nicolas Mignard, was displayed on the walls of one of the rooms in the Tonduti de l'Escarène mansion at 17-19 rue Petite-Fusterie in Avignon. The composition and da sotto in su perspective of this work suggest that it could have adorned a door top. Other decorations for the same hotel, several of which feature Apollo, adorned the ceilings of the bedroom and alcove. The choice of Apollo as the main subject of the decor is obviously not insignificant, as it directly evokes the figure of the Sun King Louis XIV. Several of the paintings on the walls were purchased by the Musée Calvet in Avignon when they were put up for sale at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 14 February 1962. The museum's collections include a suite on the allegory of the seasons and three paintings depicting Apollo. The ensemble has been dated to 1655-1659 thanks to a stylistic comparison established by Louis Demonts ("Décoration de Nicolas Mignard pour l'hôtel de l'Escarène à Avignon", 'Bulletin de la Société de l'Art Français', 1908, p. 66-69) and then confirmed by Antoine Schnapper in the catalogue of the 1979 exhibition dedicated to the work of Nicolas Mignard. According to Antoine Schnapper, a 1659 engraving of a portrait of Pierre-François de Tonduti by François Poilly after a drawing by Nicolas Mignard, placed at the head of Tonduti's 'Tractatus de pensionibus ecclesiasticis...', seems to confirm the painter's links with the Avignon scholar. His portrait painted by Nicolas Mignard recently entered the collections of the Musée Calvet in Avignon in 2022 (oil on canvas, 42 x 34.2 cm). Since this work was carried out, the attribution of this work has been called into question. It is in fact possible to link this decoration to the still little-known work of Pierre II Mignard. The eldest son of Nicolas, Pierre II is best known for his work as an architect, and in particular for Montmajour Abbey, one of his most famous works. Alain Breton's recent work on the artist has shed new light on his work, which had long been overshadowed by the careers of his father Nicolas and his uncle Pierre. Pierre II MIGNARD or Nicolas MIGNARD, known as Mignard d'Avignon (Avignon, 1640 - Paris, 1725 or Troyes, 1606 - Paris, 1668) 69.5 x 86.5 x 0.0 cm Our vanitas composition, long attributed to Nicolas Mignard, was displayed on the walls of one of the rooms in the Tonduti de l'Escarène mansion at 17-19 rue Petite-Fusterie in Avignon. The composition and da sotto in su perspective of this work suggest that it could have adorned a door top. Other decorations for the same hotel, several of which feature Apollo, adorned the ceilings of the bedroom and alcove. The choice of Apollo as the main subject of the decor is obviously not insignificant, as it directly evokes the figure of the Sun King Louis XIV. Several of the paintings on the walls were purchased by the Musée Calvet in Avignon when they were put up for sale at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 14 February 1962. The museum's collections include a suite depicting the allegory of the seasons and three paintings of Apollo. The ensemble has been dated to 1655-1659 thanks to a stylistic comparison established by Louis Demonts ("Décoration de Nicolas Mignard pour l'hôtel de l'Escarène à Avignon", 'Bulletin de la Société de l'Art Français', 1908, p. 66-69) and then confirmed by Antoine Schnapper in the catalogue of the 1979 exhibition dedicated to the work of Nicolas Mignard. According to Antoine Schnapper, a 1659 engraving of a portrait of Pierre-François de Tonduti by François Poilly after a drawing by Nicolas Mignard, placed at the head of Tonduti's 'Tractatus de pensionibus ecclesiasticis...', seems to confirm the painter's links with the Avignon scholar. His portrait painted by Nicolas Mignard recently entered the collections of the Musée Calvet in Avignon in 2022 (oil on canvas, 42 x 34.2 cm). Since this work was carried out, the attribution of this work has been called into question. It is in fact possible to link this decoration to the still little-known work of Pierre II Mignard. The eldest son of Nicolas, Pierre II is best known for his work as an architect, and in particular for Montmajour Abbey, one of his most famous works. Alain Breton's recent work on the artist has shed new light on his work, which had long been overshadowed by the careers of his father Nicolas and his uncle Pierre.