# Banquet of Jupille

The Banquet of Jupille (French:Le Banquet de Jupille) is a painting by Belgian painter Auguste Chauvin — first exhibited in 1861.
The painting was commissioned by the Belgian state and the city of Liège in 1855 and is influenced by twelfth century Italian mannerism. It represents an incident in the lore of Saint Lambert, the bishop of Maastricht. The painting depicts Lambert, around 705 CE, addressing Pepin of Herstal and Alpaide, the second wife of Pepin and mother of Charles Martel. Alpaide usurps the place of Plectrude, the first and legitimate wife of Pepin, and tries to obtain Lambert's blessing by trickery by trying to make him bless her cup during a banquet offered by Pepin in Jupille, a village near the city of Liège. Shortly after the incident, Lambert was assassinated by the troops of Dodon, brother of Alpaide and domesticus of Pepin.
The work was exhibited in 1861 at the Antwerp, then in Berlin in 1862. It remained in the municipal collections of Liège, and in the reserves of the Walloon Art Museum from 1952, finally being moved from there in 1996. That same year, the painting was restored, and it has been exhibited since then at St.Paul's Cathedral in Liège .

## History

The Banquet of Jupille was commissioned by the Belgian state and the city of Liège to the artist Auguste Chauvin. A contract amounting to 10,000 Belgian Franc was signed on 1 May 1855, with 3,000 Francs to be paid as an advance for the sketch, 3,000 Francs once half the work is complete and the remaining 4,000 Francs once the work is completed. The city of Liège contributed 3,000 Francs and the rest was covered by the State. Auguste Chauvin started work on the subject immediately, and completed in 1861. The delay in its execution was due to Chauvin's illness and his dual functions as director of the arts academy and interim professor of the antique drawing class.

## Artist

Born in Liège in 1810, Auguste Chauvin moved to Aix-la-Chapelle in 1816. He trained there to become an architect, and learned the basics of drawing and painting from Jean Baptiste Bastiné. After working as a master mason for several years, he gave up this career in 1831, decided to follow his artistic vocation and went to study at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts with Wilhelm von Schadow. From 1832 to 1841, he continued his training in Düsseldorf while serving for a few months each year as official painter to the court of Neuwied. In 1841, he returned to Liège, where he was offered a position as professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He had a long teaching career at the Academy, which ended with his retirement in 1880. When he completed and exhibited Le Banquet de Jupille at the Antwerp Salon in 1861, Chauvin had not had any notable exhibitions for almost ten years, which was probably caused by his workload at the Academy, which had increased greatly following the death of Barthélemy Vieillevoye in 1855.

## Description

The painting is also known as Saint Lambert at the Banquet of Pepin of Herstal, and Saint Lambert and Alpaide. It is a large-format oil painting, measuring 390 cm (150 in) × 470 cm (190 in). It depicts Saint Lambert, the bishop of Maastricht in 705 CE. Standing, he is seen addressing Pepin of Herstal and his second wife Alpaide. By having Alpaïde at his side in place of his legitimate wife Plectrude, Pepin defied the laws of the Church, and Alpaide mixed her cup with those of the other guests to have it blessed by Lambert through trickery. In 1843, Étienne de Gerlache provided a more detailed description of the legend which served as inspiration for the painter in his work History of Liège from Caesar to Maximilian of Bavaria. He describes how Pepin, one day when he was in Jupille with his court, sent for Lambert. The bishop goes to the palace, and discovered preparations for a huge feast, and he is welcomed by Pepin and Alpaide. As the guests take their seats at the banquet, Pepin asks Lambert to bless his cup first. He is soon imitated by all the courtiers, who also pass their cups to the bishop, and Alpaide also furtively slips hers among the others. But Lambert notices Alpaide's maneuver and says to Pepin, "See the impudence of this woman, whose presence here is a public scandal, and who would like to make me her accomplice!". With these words, he abruptly leaves the table, and exits the palace.
The Jupille episode was mentioned previously in Liège historiography by Theodose Bouille in 1725 in the first volume of his History of the City and Country of Liège, and by Louis Dewez in 1822 in the first volume of his History of the Country of Liège. Philippe George, assistant at the University of Liège and curator of the Treasury of St.Paul's Cathedral, believes that it is difficult to know the artist's exact motivations.

## Exhibition

Once completed, the work was exhibited at the Antwerp Salon from 4 August 1861 to 30 September 1861. In December of the same year, it was installed at the municipal museum of Liège. The painting was exhibited in 1862 in Berlin. It remained in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts at Liege, before passing into the collections of the Walloon Art Museum when the latter was created in 1952. At the Walloon Art Museum, it was rolled on a plywood cylinder, and stored. The painting is currently on display at St.Paul's Cathedral in Liège. It went through an extensive restoration process that began in April 1996, and was opened for display on 5 September 1996 as part of the commemorations of the death of Saint Lambert.