CARPENTRAS.- From June 14 to September 28, 2025, the Inguimbertine at the Hôtel-Dieu of Carpentras hosts a unique exhibition dedicated to Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802), one of the most remarkable portraitists of the 18th century, in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth. This event highlights the work of this exceptional artist from Carpentras and offers a unique immersion into his artistic world.


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A PRESTIGIOUS VENUE : L’INGUIMBERTINE AT THE HÔTEL-DIEU

The Hôtel-Dieu of Carpentras, magnificently restored, provides a perfect setting for this exhibition. Inaugurated in April 2024, this heritage site is now home to the Inguimbertine library-museum. With nearly 43,000 visitors since its opening, it has established itself as a major cultural venue in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. This unique institution in France immerses visitors in the history of Carpentras and the Comtat Venaissin, as well as in the world of an 18th-century library-museum and a grand fine arts gallery.

In 2025, the Inguimbertine has the honor of celebrating a native of Carpentras, Joseph Siffred Duplessis, born 300 years ago and recognized as a master of portrait painting at the court of King Louis XVI.

A TRIBUTE TO A MASTER PORTRAITIST

His works, now housed in the world’s greatest museums, attest to Duplessis’s artistic genius. The exhibition brings together around sixty paintings from the 200 he created, sourced from prestigious collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Palace of Versailles, and the Louvre Museum.

The exhibition also provides the Inguimbertine with an opportunity to highlight the richness of its own collection, which includes the largest public holding of the artist’s works—22 paintings and drawings, among them the only two religious paintings he ever produced. These masterpieces allow visitors to discover or rediscover Duplessis’s remarkable skill, particularly in his role as the official portraitist of Louis XVI.

This first retrospective of the master portraitist is accompanied by a catalog of his works, listing nearly two hundred paintings, published by Lienart Editions.

UNPARALLELED MASTERY

Duplessis had an extraordinary ability to capture the essence of his subjects with mastery and sensitivity that transcend time. Visitors will be particularly impressed by his virtuosity in rendering the complexions of faces and the textures of fabrics. Acknowledged by his contemporaries as «the greatest portrait painter in the kingdom,» his talent for portraying character and presence is being showcased through a carefully curated selection of works.

For a portraitist, painting and exhibiting well-known figures was essential to gaining public recognition. In this pursuit, Duplessis worked within three spheres: men of letters, scholars, and artists. Among his most famous works are the full-length portrait of Louis XVI and two portraits that have left a lasting mark on art history: that of Austrian composer Gluck and that of the American statesman Benjamin Franklin, whose long stay in France embodied the ideals of the Enlightenment and the birth of a new world.

A MUST-SEE EVENT

Curated by Xavier Salmon, curator at the Louvre Museum and a specialist in 18th century portraiture, this exhibition promises to be a major cultural event of 2025. It offers a unique opportunity to understand why Duplessis was considered one of the greatest portraitists of his time. Visitors are able to explore his official commissions for the royal court and the ministers of Louis XVI, his clientele in both Provence and Paris, as well as his rare religious paintings, all within the stunning setting of the Hôtel-Dieu of Carpentras.


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