Louis Jean Thévenet Explained

Jean Louis Thevenet (senior) (1705 - ca. 1778) was a French porcelain painter active from 1741 to 1777. Formerly a fanmaker, he painted flowers, both singular and in bunches. His early work included painting on porcelain in the studio of Louis François Gravant. He worked at Manufacture de Vincennes (1741) before joining Sèvres in 1756 where he was known as No. 121. His mark resembles a pin, although it has also been illustrated as a comma or musical note.^[1] He was known to still have painted in 1778, and to have had a daughter who also painted for Sèvres.^[2]

Selected works in public collections

• 1764, ointment jars, Sèvres porcelain, polychrome decoration, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• 1767, bone china cup and saucer, Clark Art Institute
• 1768, cup and saucer from the Manufacture de Vincennes, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
• Sugar pot, Walters Art Museum

Notes and References

1. Book: Fahy, F. J. B. Watson, Carl Christian Dauterman, and Everett. The Wrightsman Collection. Vols. 3 and 4, Furniture, Snuffboxes, Silver, Bookbindings, Porcelain. 1970. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 978-0-87099-010-6. 439–.
2. Book: Dauterman. Carl Christian. O'Neill. John Philip. Wasserman. Rosanne. Sèvres Porcelain: Makers and Marks of the Eighteenth Century. 1 January 1986. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 978-0-87099-227-8. 132–.