The Chevalier Bayard(Jean-Claude Rumeau)
The Chevalier Bayard (c.1473-1524), the quintessential knight, had been a popular subject for history painting since the late eighteenth century when he was the subject of several publications. The episode depicted in this highly finished watercolor came about because Bayard was wounded at the siege of Brescia.
A noblewoman whose house and family Bayard had protected from pillage took in the wounded Bayard. The grateful lady was determined to reward him and gave him a box containing 2500 ducats. At first refusing this gift, he then accepted on condition that he could bid goodbye to her two daughters personally; he then gave them each 1000 ducats for their dowry and 500 to a local nunnery. The grateful young ladies bound ribbons containing locks of their hair to Bayards arm which he swore never to remove.
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[1]Guyard de Berville, Histoire de Pierre Terrail, dit le chevalier de Bayard, sans peur et sans reproche, Paris, 1760 and Combes, Éloge de Pierre Terrail, 1769 are two examples. There were also many plays produced on the subject of Bayard.
[2]Marie-Claude Chaudonneret, La Peinture Troubadour, Paris, 1980, p. 74.
[3]In the Salons between 1808 and 1822, fourteen pictures on the theme of Bayard were exhibited.
[4] Bayard, who was celebrated for his chivalry and bravery, fought in the Italian wars of Charles VIII and François I.
Exhibited: Paris, Salon, no. 1009 (En quittant le sejour de Brescia, il reçoit les adieux de ses hôtes); ; New Orleans Museum of Art, New York Stair Sainty Matthiesen, Cincinnati Taft Museum of Art, Romance and Chivalry: Literature and History reflected