Jean Daret, 1614-1668 : Peintre Du Roi En Provance

Exhibition at the Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, 15 June-29 September 2024

Jean Daret is a great painter of 17th-century Provencal Baroque who worked for the most important patrons of his time, including King Louis XIV and the Governor of Provence.

Born in Brussels, Jean Daret moved to Aix-en-Provence, where he specialised in decorating homes and took part in the ornamentation of numerous churches and convents. Although he also did some work in Paris, Daret's output in the south was considerable: he worked there for a private clientele who commissioned mythological scenes, portraits, genre scenes and devotional works. His masterpiece, the trompe-l'œil decoration of the stairwell of the Hôtel de Châteaurenard, in Aix-en-Provence, earned him the attention of King Louis XIV and his appointment as 'Painter to the King'.

This exhibition catalogue, the first publication devoted to Jean Daret, is an opportunity to share the discoveries of recent research and to reproduce an exceptional collection of the Flemish artist's most important works: paintings, drawings and engravings, set against works by the great masters of the century, from Paris (Simon Vouet and Jacques Blanchard) and Provence (Nicolas Mignard, Reynaud Levieux and Gilles Garcin). The book also includes a catalogue raisonné of the artist's paintings, drawings and engravings.