François Vavasseur

Vavasseur aîné, Mark for Two Shell-Shaped Fruit Bowls, 1758, slide 17_Mark

François Vavasseur, also known as Vavasseur aîné (the elder; active 1753–70), was a painter of flowers and fruit. His work can be seen on the "Two Shell-Shaped Fruit Bowls" (compotiers à coquille, 1758, slide 17). His mark, which looks like 2 overlapping Vs, is visible in Slide 17_Mark.

It’s unclear which of the Vavasseur family are meant at different junctures, so it is not completely certain that François Vavasseur and Vavasseur aîné are one and the same. In any event, Savill provides some colorful anecdotes regarding Vavasseur’s use of “bad language” and general impertinence at the factory, for which he was reprimanded (Savill 1988, 3:1073).

Two Shell-Shaped Fruit Bowls (compotiers à coquille), 1758, slide 17

References: Savill 1988, 3:1073–74; Tardy 1981, 569.