# Sébastien Bourdon artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/sebastien-bourdon/
Profile generated: 2026-06-01T03:59:10.608Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1616-02-02
- Death date: 1671-05-08
- Nationality: French
- Movements: Baroque, Bamboccianti, French Classicism
- Common media: Oil painting, Engraving, Fresco, Drawing

## About Sébastien Bourdon

Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671) was a French painter, engraver, and draftsperson recognized as one of the most versatile artists of the French Baroque. Born in Montpellier, he trained and worked across France, Italy, and Sweden, absorbing influences from Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, and the Bamboccianti circle of genre painters active in Rome. A devout Protestant, Bourdon fled Italy during the Papal Inquisition and eventually returned to Paris, where he became one of the twelve founding members of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1648. His surviving masterwork, The Crucifixion of St. Peter, was commissioned for Notre Dame cathedral. Bourdon's output spans religious history painting, Italianate landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits, making his work encountered across a wide range of collecting categories.

## Common works and media

Bourdon commonly produced oil paintings on canvas and panel, encompassing religious and mythological history scenes, idealized Italianate landscapes, and smaller-scale genre compositions influenced by the Bamboccianti. He also worked in fresco and was an accomplished engraver; his prints and preparatory drawings appear on the market. Collectors may encounter pendant landscapes, biblical narratives such as depictions of Saint Peter and the Adoration scenes, and compositional studies in red chalk or ink wash.

## Market and appraisal context

Bourdon's work appears in the Old Master paintings and Old Master prints and drawings auction categories. Key valuation factors include secure attribution to the artist versus studio or follower works, the subject matter (religious compositions and Italianate landscapes tend to be most desirable), documented provenance especially to notable French or Swedish collections, and overall condition. With over 500 works catalogued by the RKD, his oeuvre is substantial for a 17th-century French painter. Collectors should note that attribution can be nuanced and expert connoisseurship is often required. Comparable public auction records and sale history should be reviewed for current market benchmarks.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines identity research from institution-grade sources — including the Getty ULAN authority file, the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), VIAF, Wikidata, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France — with available auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lot data when those records are present in the Appraisily and Invaluable databases.

## Sources

- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/11495
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q553795
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006900
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/2637215/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9bastien_Bourdon
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr94042918