Early Life, Family and Training
Guillaume Perrier was born in 1600 in Mâcon, France. He grew up in a household defined by the precise, tactile work of a goldsmith, as his father held that trade. This early environment likely shaped his understanding of fine lines and metalwork, a connection that would later manifest in his dual career as both a painter and an engraver.
Artistry ran through his immediate family. He was the brother of François Perrier, who also worked as a painter and engraver. Growing up alongside a brother in the same craft suggests a life spent surrounded by the tools of the trade—the burin, the etching needle, and the steady hand required to leave a mark on metal or canvas.
Life and Activity in Lyon
In 1636, Perrier moved to Lyon, a city that would define the later years of his life. His presence there was marked by a significant undertaking for the convent of the Minims. He produced a series of forty-four paintings intended for the site, a collection that was later dispersed during the Revolution. Only two of these works, The Last Supper and The Passover, survived the upheaval to be located in the Musée du Puy. The rest of the series remains known only through an inventory from 1791.
Life in the city was not always quiet. Records suggest a moment of violence when Perrier killed an opponent in a duel. Following this event, he sought refuge within the sacristy of the Minims. This period of hiding and the subsequent religious commissions suggest a life lived amidst the heavy shadows of the seventeenth century. He remained in Lyon until his death on June 23, 1656.
Key Works and Artistic Subjects
Perrier’s hands moved between the heavy textures of painting and the precise lines of engraving. His subjects often centered on the quiet, heavy moments of religious life. He captured the Holy Family and the two families of Christ, focusing on the domestic and spiritual connections within these groups. There is a stillness in how he approached these figures, treating the sacred through a lens of direct observation.
His engravings and paintings also touched upon more singular, dramatic moments. He worked on the Death of the Magdalen and the Portrait of Lazarus Messonier, showing a capacity for both character study and the depiction of mortality. These works suggest a preoccupation with the weight of human experience, whether through the presence of a specific individual or the finality of a death.
Where to See the Works Today
Many of Perrier's paintings remain in the quiet spaces where they were originally intended to be viewed. In Bourg-en-Bresse, the Church of Saint-Nicolas-de-Tolentin holds Saint Nicholas of Tolentin in ecstasy listening to the concert of the angels. Nearby, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon houses Sainte Cécile. In Mâcon, the Musée des Ursulines contains Achille parmi les filles de Lycomède. You can also find the Virgin and Child with Saint Roch, Saint Anthony, Saint Charles Borromea and Saint Sebastian in Thizy-les-Bourgs.
Other works have found their way into larger collections. The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy holds several pieces, including Anges expliquant le mystère de la Croix, Ravissement de la Madeleine, and the Sainte Famille. In the Church of Saint-Wulphy in Rue, Somme, the Martyrdom of Saint Lucy remains on display.
