# Nicolas Chaperon artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/nicolas-chaperon/ Profile generated: 2026-05-02T04:27:39.514Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Birth date: 1612-10-19 - Nationality: French - Movements: French Baroque / Classicism - Common media: Oil painting, Drawing, Engraving / printmaking ## About Nicolas Chaperon Nicolas Chaperon (baptized Châteaudun, October 19, 1612; died Rome, circa 1656) was a French painter, draughtsman, and engraver whose career bridges the Parisian studio tradition of Simon Vouet and the classical reform of Nicolas Poussin. Trained under Vouet in Paris, Chaperon adopted his master's decorative Baroque manner before departing for Rome around 1642. There he entered Poussin's circle and spent nearly a decade copying and interpreting the works of Raphael under Poussin's direct guidance, a formative experience that reshaped his style toward restrained classicism. Chaperon signed his works at various times as "Chapron" or "Chappron," a practice reflected in auction catalogues and library authority records today. Scholars since Félibien (1666–1688) have recognized his role in transmitting Raphaelesque compositions into French seventeenth-century art, making his paintings, drawings, and prints a point of contact for collectors of French Baroque and Old Master material. ## Common works and media Chaperon produced oil paintings of mythological and religious subjects, preparatory and finished drawings in pen, ink, and wash, and a significant body of engravings—particularly reproductive prints after Raphael's Vatican frescoes and Poussin's compositions. Prints and drawings constitute a large share of his auction presence. Paintings are less common and tend to be smaller-scale cabinet works reflecting his classical Roman influence rather than large altarpieces. ## Market and appraisal context Nicolas Chaperon's auction record shows a thin but wide-dispersion market spanning 2005–2023, with 12 recorded lots of which only 5 carry realized prices. The priced lots range from €90 (Cambi Casa d'Aste, 2020, battle scene) to $192,000 (Christie's, 2005), with a median of €21,250. Christie's dominates the high end, accounting for the three highest prices: $192,000 in 2005, €26,900 in 2008, and €21,250 in 2011—all for oil paintings. Mid- and lower-tier houses (Osenat, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Material Culture, Isbilya Subastas, Dogny Auction) handle the remainder, mostly in the sub-€2,000 range or with no price recorded. No lots have appeared in the most recent 24 months (2024–2026), suggesting low liquidity at present. Oil paintings—especially mythological and religious subjects—command the strongest prices; engravings and prints trade at the low end. The enormous spread between the top price and the median reflects the premium placed on securely attributed, well-provenanced paintings versus workshop, circle-of, or reproductive works. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Nicolas Chaperon's auction record shows a thin but wide-dispersion market spanning 2005–2023, with 12 recorded lots of which only 5 carry realized prices. The priced lots range from €90 (Cambi Casa d'Aste, 2020, battle scene) to $192,000 (Christie's, 2005), with a median of €21,250. Christie's dominates the high end, accounting for the three highest prices: $192,000 in 2005, €26,900 in 2008, and €21,250 in 2011—all for oil paintings. Mid- and lower-tier houses (Osenat, Cambi Casa d'Aste, Material Culture, Isbilya Subastas, Dogny Auction) handle the remainder, mostly in the sub-€2,000 range or with no price recorded. No lots have appeared in the most recent 24 months (2024–2026), suggesting low liquidity at present. Oil paintings—especially mythological and religious subjects—command the strongest prices; engravings and prints trade at the low end. The enormous spread between the top price and the median reflects the premium placed on securely attributed, well-provenanced paintings versus workshop, circle-of, or reproductive works. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily would use these auction records as comparable-lot anchors alongside client-submitted photographs, measured dimensions, medium identification (oil on canvas, pen-and-ink drawing, or engraving), signature or inscription details, condition report (relining, restoration, foxing for works on paper), and documented provenance. The wide price dispersion means that attribution confidence is the single most impactful variable: a securely attributed painting with Christie's provenance and Laveissière catalogue reference appraises very differently from an unsigned 'after Chaperon' oil at a regional house. For prints and engravings, edition state, plate condition, and margin quality drive value within a narrow, low-to-mid-hundred range. Comparable lots should be filtered by medium, attribution level (autograph / circle / follower / after), and house tier rather than averaged across the full record. ### Valuation factors - Attribution confidence: autograph works by Chaperon command premiums an order of magnitude above circle-of or 'after' designations; the name variants (Chaperon, Chapron, Chappron) complicate cataloguing and search. - Medium: oil paintings dominate the high end (€21,250–$192,000), while engravings and prints cluster below €1,000. - Provenance and scholarly reference: works cited in the 1999 Laveissière monograph or with documented Christie's provenance carry stronger market credibility. - Condition: relining, overpaint, foxing, or trimmed margins disproportionately affect value in a market where most buyers are connoisseur-collectors. - Subject: mythological and religious compositions after Raphael or Poussin are the most recognized and sought-after subjects. - House tier: Christie's results anchor the high end; regional houses (Osenat, Cambi, Material Culture) typically realize lower prices for comparable material. - Period: works linked to the documented Roman period (circa 1642–1651) under Poussin's influence may attract more scholarly and collector interest than Paris-period works. - Liquidity: no auction appearances in 24+ months suggest limited current demand; appraisals should reflect a potentially long marketing period. ### Collector notes - If you own a painting attributed to Nicolas Chaperon, the single most value-sensitive step is securing a scholarly attribution opinion—ideally referencing the 1999 Laveissière catalogue raisonné. Autograph paintings have realized up to $192,000 at Christie's, but 'after' or circle-of works trade below €1,100 at regional houses. For drawings and prints, expect modest values (low hundreds to low thousands) unless the work carries exceptional provenance or is a previously unrecorded composition. When buying, note that many lots appear under the variant spelling 'Chapron'; searching both forms uncovers more comparable material. The absence of recent auction activity since 2023 may indicate either scarcity of available works or reduced market appetite—either way, patience is likely required for both acquisition and resale. ### Market caveats - Only 5 of 12 recorded lots carry realized prices; the remaining 7 (including all four Material Culture lots from 2022) lack price data, which may indicate unsold lots, withdrawn works, or data gaps. The price distribution should be interpreted cautiously. - The $192,000 top price (Christie's, 2005) is a single outlier nearly 9× the median; it may not be representative of typical market value and could reflect a particularly important or well-provenanced work. - No auction activity is recorded in the 24 months preceding the data collection date (May 2026), limiting the reliability of current-market estimates. - Multiple currencies appear in the record (USD, EUR, CHF); price comparisons should account for exchange-rate variation across the 2005–2023 period. - Works appear under name variants 'Chaperon,' 'Chapron,' and 'Chappron'; the auction record may undercount total appearances if some cataloguing uses an unrecognized variant. - Death date remains uncertain across scholarly sources (1652–circa 1656), which can complicate dating and attribution of unsigned works. ### Market evidence sources - undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/nicolas-chaperon/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine researched artist identity from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots. For Nicolas Chaperon, identity data draws on the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata, supplemented by biographical scholarship including the 1999 Laveissière monograph cited in those authority records. Market observations reference the Invaluable auction database and the auction categories and lot counts it records. ## Sources - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2001045360 - RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/16393 - VIAF / OCLC: https://viaf.org/viaf/12644471/ - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2476960 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Chaperon