Olivier Martinet

Olivier Martinet (XVIIe - ?) was an 18th-century French architect of the Comté de Laval [fr].

Life

Origin

He was the son of Jean Martinet and Renée Bellier (the Belliers were linked to several architects). He was also affiliated to the Langlois family.^[1]

Architect

One evening of the 1645 Fête-Dieu, at the end of the suburb of Saint-Martin de Laval, a fight took place between Jean-Michel Langlois and Olivier Martinet on one side and the architects François and Pierre Vignier on the other, but the complaint was withdrawn, and they reconciled. Another time, in 1666, François Langlois was accused of wounding Jacques Chevreul, master locksmith, in a quarrel.

He lived in Vitré in 1647 when he had his first known market signed in Laval^[2] to build the main altar of the Abbaye de la Joie [fr] in Hennebont.^[3]

In the same year, he took part in the auction of the reredos of Église Saint-Martin de Vitré [fr] which he won against the Langlois^[4] and the marble maker Julien Lecomte^[5] However, it did not respect the planned deadlines^[6] and completed the project in 1649^[7] In 1647, he ordered again marble noir d'Argentré [fr] from Rochereau et Cuvelier, which was to be delivered to Nantes.

In 1650, he built an altar at Saint-Colomban Church in Quimperlé.^[8] In 1653,^[9] he is at Port-Louis where he built the altars of the Church of Our Lady.^[10]

On May 31, 1655, he lived in Hennebont, and came to Laval to settle his marble scores with Michel Rochereau. At the same time, he erected^[11] three retables lavallois in Séglien,^[12] Ploërdut and Locmalo. On April 7, 1657, he lived in Auray^[13] where he built an altar at the Église Saint-Gildas d'Auray [fr].

He then erected an altar in a side chapel of the Dominican Church of Rennes. He then returned to Port-Louis, where the work seemed episodic. It was probably at the same time that he was raising the main altar and two side altarpieces in the church of Carnac, that he finished in 1659.

In 1660, he built the altarpiece of the main altar of Brélévenez [fr], then in 1667, that of Laniscat. From 1668 to 1670 or 1672, he built an altarpiece at the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-du-Doigt.^[14] In 1672, he had the following transported from Nantes to Château du Taureau [fr] and at the hâvre of Pontrieux marble and tufa.^[15] Jacques Salbert thinks that an altarpiece was built in the chapel of the Château du Taureau, and that the rest of the material was used to build the altarpiece of Guingamp.^[16]

In 1672, he worked on the construction of the main altar of the Abbaye de Beauport.^[17] In 1679, Martinet made the altarpiece of Tressignaux, then probably also in Guingamp in 1680. The altarpiece of Bréhat is also attributed ^[18] to Olivier Martinet.

References

^ His kinship is attested by a notarial deed of 1639 which mentions him as close relatives of the minor children of deceased Jean Martinet and Renée Bellier. Abbé Angot, volume II, p. 794.
^ He ordered 20 columns, 8 balusters and flat marble from the marble makers Rochereau and Cuvelier.
^ This altarpiece has now disappeared.
^ Represented by François Langlois, their brother, a grain merchant.
^ Olivier Martinet also architect put the said altar to a thousand pounds to which as more demeaning by the advisers of most of the said parishioners was the said awarded company.
^ One year.
^ Paris-Jallobert, Journal historique de Vitré, p. 137.
^ - Retable de l'église Saint-Colomban de Quimperlé. Martinet leads a team of local masons and sculptors (Berard, Bonnier, Chève, Le Poix). He had statues executed by the sculptor Jacob Le Roy, famous for his marble and terracotta statues.
^ According to J.-M. Richard.
^ They were blessed in 1655. These altars have now disappeared. They can be seen in a photograph by H.-F Buffet Le vieux Port-Louis, p. 144.
^ These altarpieces are neither dated nor signed, but for Jacques Salbert, characteristic of his work.
^ This altarpiece is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Tugal Caris.
^ According to the act of sale of the house in Avesnières [fr].
^ It was destroyed by fire in the 20th century. There are still some photographs left. Jacques Salbert indicates that it had an original place in the Laval altarpiece by its double convexity of the wings framing the large recessed central painting.
^ three cents of tufa, 6 columns of 7 feet marble, 4 columns of 6 feet, 2 of 5, 18 half balusters
^ Attributed to Olivier Martinet by Hervé du Halgouët, Les retables de chevet au XVIIe et au XVIIIe, p. 21.
^ This altarpiece is now destroyed. It was decorated with 6 marble columns and 3 statues, and the whole had cost 4000 Livres.
^ By R. Couffon.

Bibliography

Jules-Marie Richard, Les constructeurs de retables, Société d'archéologie et d'histoire de la Mayenne [fr], 1906.
Jacques Salbert, Ateliers de retabliers Lavallois aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles: Études historiques et artistiques, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 1976.

[1] His kinship is attested by a notarial deed of 1639 which mentions him as close relatives of the minor children of deceased Jean Martinet and Renée Bellier. Abbé Angot, volume II, p. 794.

[2] He ordered 20 columns, 8 balusters and flat marble from the marble makers Rochereau and Cuvelier.

[3] This altarpiece has now disappeared.

[4] Represented by François Langlois, their brother, a grain merchant.

[5] Olivier Martinet also architect put the said altar to a thousand pounds to which as more demeaning by the advisers of most of the said parishioners was the said awarded company.

[6] One year.

[7] Paris-Jallobert, Journal historique de Vitré, p. 137.

[8] - Retable de l'église Saint-Colomban de Quimperlé. Martinet leads a team of local masons and sculptors (Berard, Bonnier, Chève, Le Poix). He had statues executed by the sculptor Jacob Le Roy, famous for his marble and terracotta statues.

[9] According to J.-M. Richard.

[10] They were blessed in 1655. These altars have now disappeared. They can be seen in a photograph by H.-F Buffet Le vieux Port-Louis, p. 144.

[11] These altarpieces are neither dated nor signed, but for Jacques Salbert, characteristic of his work.

[12] This altarpiece is sometimes incorrectly attributed to Tugal Caris.

[13] According to the act of sale of the house in Avesnières [fr].

[14] It was destroyed by fire in the 20th century. There are still some photographs left. Jacques Salbert indicates that it had an original place in the Laval altarpiece by its double convexity of the wings framing the large recessed central painting.

[15] three cents of tufa, 6 columns of 7 feet marble, 4 columns of 6 feet, 2 of 5, 18 half balusters

[16] Attributed to Olivier Martinet by Hervé du Halgouët, Les retables de chevet au XVIIe et au XVIIIe, p. 21.

[17] This altarpiece is now destroyed. It was decorated with 6 marble columns and 3 statues, and the whole had cost 4000 Livres.

[18] By R. Couffon.

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