Portrait of Dom Pascal Le Tonnelier

The identity of the Carthusian monk and artist who painted him only came to light during recent conservation. Two secondary supports were removed from the verso revealing an early French inscription recording the portraits key facts: “Dom Pascal Le Tonnelier, Prior of the Carthusians of Paris, Age of 65 years, painted by J. Dumont le Rom. in 1733." Le Tonnelier (1668–1742/45) was a prominent leader of the Carthusian Order in France. He became embroiled in the dispute over Jansenism, one of the great religious controversies of the era. He joined a group of clerics opposing Pope Clement XI’s demand that France submit unconditionally to his papal bull condemning Jansenism. Dumont presumably painted his portrait for the Paris convent when Le Tonnelier was prior. The artist made at least one other picture for the monastery built on the ruins of Château de Vauvert near the Luxembourg Gardens, which was filled with art by the most illustrious contemporary artists of the day. The convent was suppressed during the French Revolution. The painting is not recorded in any of the 19th-century chronicles of the convent's collection, suggesting that the inscription was already covered up, or that the painting was dispersed during the 25-year dormancy of the Carthusian Order in France. With centuries of dirt removed from the varnished surface, the delicate treatment of the monk’s wrinkled brow and eyelids, shaved scalp, and five o’clock shadow are once again visible.Dumont’s skillful modeling of the hands and hooded white habit makes them appear tangible.   **Conservation of this painting was generously funded in memory of Lynn Christianson**