1758-1759

Saint Geneviève, Patron Saint of Paris

French, 1716 - 1764

After successfully establishing himself as a portrait engraver in Paris in the 1740s, Jean-Joseph Balechou returned to his native Provence, where he began his career as a printmaker in Avignon. Balechou made a business of engraving paintings by contemporary French artists in local collections, including Carle van Loo's Saint-Geneviève, Patron Saint of Paris. Balechou dedicated this print to Louis XV-after receiving official permission to do so from the marquis de Marigny in 1759. This was a savvy move, since the king attributed his recovery from serious illness in 1744 to Saint Geneviève and vowed to rebuild the church in Paris containing her shrine.