Louis Licherie, 1642-1687

Exhibition at the Musée Thomas Henry, Cherbourg, 17 June - 25 September 2022

A follower of Poussin and Le Brun, Louis Licherie remains a little-known artist, probably because he was not involved in the great royal projects of the time and most of his religious scenes were destroyed during the Revolution. However, the painter was a drawing teacher at the Royal Manufacture of Gobelins from 1666, and, unusually, was simultaneously approved and admitted to the Royal Academy in 1679.

This catalogue of the very first retrospective devoted to Louis Licherie allows us to rediscover both the unusual path and the extent of the artist's abilities. In addition to his large-scale decorations for wealthy individuals, the artist was the author of meticulous illustrations for almanacs and panoramic views of sites. Louis Licherie's talent as a landscape painter is reflected in his history paintings, as in Nicolas Poussin's. The catalogue brings together the 34 works exhibited - paintings, preparatory drawings and engravings - of which some twenty come from French and European museums as well as from a few private collections.