Louis-Jean Thévenet

Louis-Jean Thévenet, Mark for Square Openwork Tea Service, slide 27_Mark, 1761

Louis-Jean Thévenet, also known as Thévenet père ("father" or "the elder"; b. 1707–d. after 1778; active 1741– or 1745–77), was known as a painter of flowers, birds, and friezes. His mark is identified as a thin line with a dot on the end, which is visible in Slide 27_Mark.

Teapot in the Queen’s Style (théière à la Reine), ca. 1753, slide 13. Read more about this teapot style here.

Thévenet was associated with a particular ground color, known as bleu lapis (lapis-lazuli blue), as seen vividly on the “Teapot in the Queen’s Style” (théière à la Reine, ca. 1753, slide 13). Read more about bleu lapis here.

Cup and Socketed Saucer (gobelet et soucoupe enfoncé), 1772, slide 46. Read more about this teacup form here.

Before coming to work at Vincennes in the 1740s, Thévenet was a fan painter. Porcelain painting was a family affair for Thévenet: his wife, son, and sons-in-law worked as painters, and his wife also painted flowers.

Square Openwork Tea Service (déjeuner carré à jour), 1761, slide 27

A particularly striking example of Thévenet’s work is the “Square Openwork Tea Service” (déjeuner carré à jour, 1761, slide 27), whose tray is pierced with Vitruvian scrolls and bellflowers. Find more details on this tray on this page of the exhibit.

Tray (plat long uni), 1760, slide 26

Eriksen notes that Thévenet, along with Jean-Baptiste Tandart and others, was a member of the select group of “skilled flower-painters” of the era who were “chosen to decorate the great service delivered to Louis XV” in the 1750s (Eriksen and De Bellaigue 1987, 96).

References: Savill 1988, 3:1071–72; Eriksen and De Bellaigue 1987, 96, 154 no. 178, 172n178, 177; Tardy 1981, 567, 614.