Antique 1804 Etching Portrait | Abbé Jean-Pierre Poujol, Curé of Saint-Pierre Cathedral, Montpellier | Donnadieu Graveur

A rare early 19th-century French memorial portrait etching of Abbé Jean-Pierre Poujol, parish priest (curé) of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Montpellier, made shortly after his death in 1804.

Within a circular frame, the aged priest is shown half-length in cassock, surplice and dark mantle with an embroidered stole, his head bowed and his arms crossed over his breast as he clasps a crucifix – a deeply moving image of humility and prayer. Beneath, an engraved inscription in elegant script reads:

“Portrait de M. Jean Pierre Poujol, Curé de la Cathédrale St Pierre de Montpellier, décédé le 2 juillet 1804, âgé de 86 ans 5 mois et 12 jours”
(“Portrait of M. Jean Pierre Poujol, Curé of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre of Montpellier, who died on 2 July 1804, aged 86 years, 5 months and 12 days”)

The plate is signed below the medallion at left “Node dit Véran” (the draughtsman) and at right “Donnadieu Graveur” (the engraver), pointing to a local Montpellier production. Born around 1718, Abbé Poujol served as a priest through the final decades of the Ancien Régime and the upheavals of the French Revolution, and the portrait was clearly made as a keepsake for his parishioners.

Details

• Type: original etching / intaglio print, memorial portrait
• Artists: Node dit Véran (del.), Donnadieu (engraver)
• Place: Montpellier, France
• Date: c. 1804
• Language: French
• Size: sheet approx. 15 × 24.5 cm (5.9 × 9.6 in); plate mark approx. 9.5 × 13.5 cm
• Condition: good; clear plate mark, deckled edges, old folds and light foxing visible mainly on the reverse, a small spot at left

A scarce piece of French clerical history and regional printmaking, over two hundred years old. The item you receive is the exact one pictured.