Claude Vignon, like many European artists of the time, spent several years in Rome early in his career, where he was partially influenced by the followers of Caravaggio. After the artist's return to France in 1622 King Louis XIII and his minister Cardinal Richelieu commissioned paintings from him. A prolific artist, Vignon also provided designs for the leading print publishers in Paris, although few of his drawings survive.
'Porcia' is typical of the compositions for the series. The foreground is dominated by the monumental figure of the heroine, while visible in the distant background, on a very different scale, is the scene of her suicide. The facial features are characteristic of all of Vignon's female figures.
(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
Master European Drawings, from the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983
Von Poussin bis Monet. Die Farben Frankreichs, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, 10 October 2015 - 17 January 2016
Inscribed on drawing (lower right): 81 - 84
Inscribed on mount (lower left): N 12. R Dublin Society
Inscribed on mount (centre): PORCIE
Inscribed on mount (lower right):...(?illegible), 1832