| Summary: | The Latin word “Trecensis”—“troyen”, “of Troyes”—which designates the birth city of Pierre Mignard (1612–1695) appeared in the 1670s to accompany his name in printed reproductions of his works. It was also found in the medal that François Chéron engraved to his glory in 1682. It was at precisely this date—stemming from an article published in a Dutch gazette—that Le Brun and other enemies of the painter drove a violent public quarrel, fuelled by libels, preventing Mignard’s access to the royal worksite of Versailles: his origins in Troyes, in Champagne were the subject of repeated sarcasm. In response, Mignard restored coherence to his career, which, after Troyes, flourished in a sojourn in Rome of more than twenty years, and he was careful to distinguish himself from Parisian institutions (beholden to the other side), which he disqualified under the name “Gobelins”. Colbert’s death (1683) and his replacement by Louvois, sealed the defeat of Le Brun. Now triumphant, Mignard realized in Versailles, for the king, major works, and in prints affirmed, more than ever, his Trecensis character. His ennoblement in 1687 imposed other formulas. But when he finally became first painter to the king in 1690, the self-portrait he disseminated was again engraved, “Pierre Mignard of Troyes”.
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