Larmessin Whimsical Costumes of Professions - Rich Breiman Collection - Curated by Gabrielle Ly
April 2024 - To view voice note transcript, scroll to the bottom. Gabrielle's text:Nicolas de Larmessin I (1632-1694) was a printmaker, known for his portraiture. Apprenticed to Jean Mathieu in 1647, de Larmessin later married the daughter of publisher Pierre Bertrand in 1654 and took over his stock in 1678. Bertrand published many of Larmessin’s works.His collection “Grotesque Costumes,” also known as Habits des meters et professions or Les costumes grotesques et les metiers, features tradesmen and tradeswomen with the wardrobe and tools of their craft. Portraying each tradesperson in the standard costume stance of the time, Larmessin’s portrait combines the influence of ballet costumes, portraying them in a fanciful documentary style. Though the costumes were first created by de Larmessin, his brother or son Nicholas de Larmessin II expanded on this idea of portraying the trades and added thirty-two plates to the collection. To have the full collection of roughly one hundred designs in one place is quite rare.These prints are “productively positioned between the fantastic and lived experience” (Pullins). Created by a tradesman like Larmessin, the portraits ought to be seen in reference to his time (representing trades, fashions, and culture of the time) and referring to the art world. The portraits walk a fine line, in tension between two opposing worlds. To the viewer, this collection deals with familiar materials of French life, though framed like an ethnography print. It lends a fantastical lens to the domestic, changing one’s preexisting perspective.Sources: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG34865https://www.martayanlan.com/pages/books/5488/nicolas-de-larmessin/les-costumes-grotesques-et-les-metiers-habits-des-metiers-et-professions?soldItem=truePrint of Louis XIV from https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2023/01/the-dancing-sun-king/ David Pullins, Techniques of the Body: Viewing the Arts and Métiers of France from the Workshop of Nicolas I and Nicolas II de Larmessin, Oxford Art Journal, Volume 37, Issue 2, June 2014, Pages 135–155, https://doi-org.stmarys-ca.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/oxartj/kcu005_____________________________________________________Katharine's TextNicolas I de Larmissin was a French engraver. Born in 1632, he produced a vast portfolio of work in his lifetime. Most of his work was portraiture, and was often in series: this exhibit features his costumes of professions. Absurdly impractical and opulent, these costumes draw attention to features of various professions in a playful and mocking way. Intricate details give insights into the professions depicted, yet there is an obviously exaggerated aspect of the pieces. Sources: British Museum, Fashion History_____________________________________________________Nicolas de Larmessin was a French engraver born in Paris in 1632. He came from a family of famous generational engravers and printers who worked in the 17th and 18th centuries. Nicolas de Larmessin is known for creating etched pictures of various artisans and skilled laborers. His work, characterized by attention to detail, is part of a series of satires and grotesques of the professions from the 1700s. Little is known about his life, but he is recognized for engraving a number of portraits. He was the elder brother of Nicolas de Larmessin II, who was also a French artist. The goal of Nicolas de Larmessin's artwork depicting artisans and skilled laborers is not fully documented.Source: Perplexity.aiVOICE NOTE TRANSCRIPT:Nicolas de Larmessin I (1632-1694) was a printmaker, known for his portraiture and his works on the different trades. He began learning the trade while apprenticing to the engraver Jean Mathieu in 1647. In 1654, de Larmessin later married the daughter of print-publisher and print-seller Pierre Bertrand, and worked for his father-in-law, taking over his stock in 1678 at Bertrand’s death. His collection “Grotesque Costumes,” also known as Habits des meters et professions or Les costumes grotesques et les metiers, features tradesmen and tradeswomen with the wardrobe and tools of their craft. Though the costumes were first created by de Larmessin, his brother or son Nicholas de Larmessin II expanded on this idea of portraying the trades and added thirty-two plates to the collection. To have a complete collection of roughly one hundred designs in one place is quite rare. Keyword: richbreiman
