Un tableau d’Abraham Hondius dans une église de Bordeaux

Abstract

A Painting by Abraham Hondius in a Church in Bordeaux. The discovery of a newly restored painting in the church of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux confirms the importance of religious inspiration in the work of the Dutch artist, Abraham Hondius, an artist known for his hunting and animal scenes. This painting, The Annunciation, signed and dated 1663-64, presently in the collection of the National Museum of Krakow, incorporates a sketch or a reduced copy on wood, completed during the painter’s stay in Amsterdam, most likely after his visit to Italy and before he established himself permanently in London. This work, painted in a Baroque style like that of The Annunciation to the Shepherds (1664) in Utrecht, bears witness to the seductive eclecticism of Hondius’ work and offers (despite the uncertainty concerning its provenance ) a new proof of the interest shown by the cosmopolitan elite of Bordeaux in Northern painting.