Paul Fréart de Chantelou (1609–1694) was a French collector. He patronised and encouraged major artists of his era, in particular Nicolas Poussin

Nicolas Poussin

Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...

 (1594–1665) and Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...

 (1598–1680).

Chantelou and Poussin

Poussin's return to Paris in 1640 would doubtless have resulted in the end of his artistic career had he not attached himself to a prestigious clientele of Parisian amateurs, among whom Chantelou was of the most influential. The two men had a long correspondence which even today provides a rich source of details on the artist's life and his artistic conception.

Among Chantelou's commissions from Poussin after his time in Paris is his "Seven Sacraments" (1644–1648), once in the collection of the duke of Sutherland and now in the store of the National Gallery of Scotland

National Gallery of Scotland

The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, is the national art gallery of Scotland. An elaborate neoclassical edifice, it stands on The Mound, between the two sections of Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens...

, and the famous Self-portrait (1650), now in the musée du Louvre.

Chantelou and Bernini

In 1665, Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

, through his intermediary and minister Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...

, summoned Bernini to Paris to take part in the rebuilding of the Louvre  The king designated Chantelou to welcome him and accompany him during his stay in Paris. Chantelou kept a precise day-to-day Journal of this meeting—from Bernini's arrival in Paris at the start of June, to his departure five months later—which survives to this day. Intended for his brother (who lived in the provinces at the time and unable to meet the sculptor in person), this Journal has become a source of importance, for history and for art history. It not only tells of the artist's personality and the conception of his art (detailing, for example, the creation of the king's portrait

Bust of Louis XIV (Bernini)

The Bust of Louis XIV is a marble portrait by the Italian artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. It was created in the year 1665 during Bernini's visit to Paris. It has been called the “grandest piece of portraiture of the baroque age” -Commissioning:...

, but also of everyday court life: confrontation between the king of France and the most renowned Italian artist of his time reveals the king's political clout.