Pierre Beaumesnil (born in Paris around 1718 – died in Limoges on March 27, 1787) was a French traveler, impresario, draftsman, and collector. Described by as a "antiquarian actor," he was known for his drawings and descriptive works depicting monuments and archaeological remains from the Limousin, Aquitaine, and other regions of France. His approach reflected a pre-Romantic sensibility rather than a strictly scientific one.
Beaumesnil's artistic depictions, some of which remain unique visual and textual records still examined in historiography and archaeology, have been noted for their limited reliability. These works are now dispersed, poorly catalogued, and largely unpublished. While portions were compiled into collections at the end of the eighteenth century and occasionally reproduced, a significant part of Beaumesnil's drawings and notes has been lost or is presumed missing from the collections and archives intended to preserve them.
Biography According to Michaud, Pierre Beaumesnil was born into a modest family in central France, possibly in Paris around 1707 or 1718, though other sources propose dates such as 1715 or 1723. His birthplace may have been the parish of Saint-Jacques-la-Boucherie.According to Guibert, Martin (), who knew Beaumesnil, was the source of many 19th-century biographies:
“Mr. de Beaumesnil, from a noble family, was an antiquarian of rare merit. He combined deep historical knowledge with the skills of a skilled draftsman. In his work, there was purity, correctness, and meticulous accuracy when copying ruins and medals. With such valuable talents, Beaumesnil was forced to become an actor to survive, changing troupes every year in order to travel and successively draw the various monuments of France. At the age of 60, he arrived in Limoges with a troupe in which he played the roles of Père-Noble. He had a head of fine character, which suited this role perfectly. Soon he met some learned men and discovered, within the Feuillans community, drawings of ancient monuments of which only faint traces remained. He copied them with the perfection and exactitude that were his own. He was welcomed by Mr. de Lépine and introduced to Mr. Daine, then Intendant of the Province; this magistrate made him known to the Minister, supported his recommendation of drawings and manuscripts, and Beaumesnil was appointed draftsman of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, with a fixed salary of 1,500 francs, not including travel expenses. At 73, returning from Anjou, Berry, and other neighboring provinces where he had gone, by order of the Academy, to draw some medieval monuments, he was struck by dropsy of the chest, which quickly removed him from the sciences and from his friends, leaving, as the only fortune to his widow, over 80 years old, a few pounds and the manuscripts of his works. Six months later, Madame de Beaumesnil died without heirs and made Mr. de Lépine her universal legatee.” Louis Guibert notes that Beaumesnil received strong artistic and drawing training but limited literary education, suggesting he did not come from a wealthy background. His work reflects an imperfect yet genuine knowledge of Latin epigraphy and ancient Greek, as well as an unusual interest in archaeology and history for his period, particularly if he was self-taught.
Around 1746, Beaumesnil joined a troupe of provincial actors.Lekain in 1768 names a singer "Beaumesnil," and particularly a couple "La Ruette [member of the Comédie Italienne, and her companion; a monsieur and a mademoiselle]" regarding the third chapter of the free admissions granted by the Comédie-Française, in his Mémoires, Paris, 1825, p. 168 (in the section "Memoir to MM. du Conseil, proving that the multiplicity of free admissions is a great obstacle to the clarity necessary in collecting revenue, March 10, 1768"). It does not appear that this refers to our itinerant couple or their acquaintances (cf. Annales dramatiques, or Dictionnaire général des théâtres, 5, Paris, 1810, p. 303). Guibert (1900, p. 49 n. 1) found no trace of their Parisian activities, nor any connection with homonyms (p. 51). According to Allou, he explained to his acquaintances—Martial de Lépine, subdelegate of the intendant of Limoges and permanent secretary of the city's Agricultural Society; the abbé Joseph Nadaud; and Dom Col (1723–1795)—that this decision reflected his interest in travel and archaeological exploration. Louis Guibert later suggested, with some irony, that Beaumesnil had instead followed his wife on tour and adopted the itinerant lifestyle characteristic of the protagonists in .
Beaumesnil traveled through several French provinces, including Limousin, Berri, Angoumois, and Agenais, where he produced pen drawings of monuments accompanied by personal notes. According to Guibert, he may also have traveled to Italy in his youth and possibly to Egypt.
From 1747 to 1775, his primary occupation was itinerant theater, after which he settled permanently in Limoges. Guibert suggests that he acted as the company's impresario. His wife, Aimée Gouslin (c. 1701–1788), also recorded as Irenée Garlin in her death certificate, was an actress who often performed leading roles. Both reportedly received the highest share of the troupe's income in its later years.
Beaumesnil's drawing plates and texts were primarily created to fulfill commissions for "artist’s views" from antiquarians, who appreciated them for their depictions of monuments, even if they contained idealized elements. Retrospectively, François Michel noted in 1993 that "his idealized vision of the Tower of Vesunna seems less absurd than the reconstructions imagined by the abbé Audierne of the oppidum of La Curade." In recognition of his work, Marius-Jean-Baptiste-Nicolas Daine (1730–1804), the intendant of Limousin, secured for Beaumesnil the title of correspondent of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1780, accompanied by a pension of 1,500 livres, including 500 livres allocated for travel expenses. Pérouse de Montclos (1982–1983, pp. 80–81) notes that Beaumesnil submitted reports to the Academy from 1779 to 1784.
Pierre Beaumesnil died on March 27, 1787, in LimogesThe death certificate published in , does not mention excommunication of actors (but refrains from giving him the profession of actor):
“On the twenty-eighth of March, 1787, was interred in the cemetery Mr. Pierre de la Ruette de Beaumenil, correspondent of the Academy, born in Paris, parish of St. Jacque-la-Boucherie, husband in life of Mlle Irenee (?) Garlin, born in Paris, parish of St. Sulpice, deceased yesterday at five in the evening in the house of Mr. Castelnaud (?) present parish, aged sixty-nine years, having received the sacrament of penance from Mr. Vitrac, parish priest of Montjovis, who signed with the undersigned as required. — Coste, parish priest of St. Michel-de-Pistorie. — Vitrac, parish priest of Montjovy. — Nouhalier. — A fourth illegible name [bookseller G.-N. Isecq, according to ." and was buried in the cemetery of the Black Penitents of Saint-Michel-de-Pistorie. Accounts of his age at death vary: the abbé Legros,: who knew him, reported 64 years; Guibert, based on the death record, reported 69; Martin, also an acquaintance, reported 72; and other sources cited by Espérandieu, including Tripon, suggested 80, though this figure is uncertain.
Fragmentary knowledge of a dispersed or lost work
State and location of the archives and drawings The known manuscripts, drawings, and archives of Pierre Beaumesnil—whose provenance is often uncertain—as well as copies made by Tersan, Allou, and Tripon, are primarily held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in the Department of Manuscripts or the Prints Cabinet, and in various scholarly societies, libraries, and departmental archives in Poitiers, Limoges, Périgueux, Agen, Aix,The Aix fund is briefly mentioned by Pierre Pinon in his 2008 paper. Bordeaux, and at the Institut. In 1900, Louis Guibert compiled an inventory of the manuscripts and copies relating to Limoges that were known to exist; however, by that time, much of Beaumesnil's work and documentation were already untraceable or no longer accessible.
According to known authors and documents, Beaumesnil's sheets and collections mainly originate from several sources:
A donation, exchange, or sale—possibly following a commission—to an antiquarian, scholar, or one of his patrons, sometimes to a civil or religious institution, of an original or a duplicate made by Beaumesnil himself. The collections (or duplicates of collections and excerpts) sent to the Academy from 1779 to 1784, and those sent before he was appointed a correspondent. The Beaumesnil estate (various papers, notes, drawings, sketches, preparatory versions, possibly his library, and his collections of objects and engravings). Copies were made by scholars and engravers who consulted his works over the centuries. The collection of the abbé de Tersan (1737–1819), of unknown—probably mixed—origin, was partially acquired by Alexandre Lenoir. The collection of Taillefer (1761–1833), also of unknown provenance, was partially acquired by the abbé Audierne.
Beaumesnil's notebooks have at times been altered or disappeared from their repositories, and no comprehensive inventory of his works and archives has been conducted since 1900. The surviving materials are generally considered incomplete, and some notes or sections may have been removed. Likely, certain sheets or collections dispersed since the late eighteenth century are now held in private collections or in archival holdings that remain unlisted or unidentified.
The loss of the collections sent to the Academy Despite some criticisms of Beaumesnil's work, the images and texts he compiled, prepared, and sent through the to the Institut de France constitute a notable collection, providing a distinctive record of eighteenth-century perceptions of heritage, much of which has been lost.
No comprehensive inventory exists of the materials he sent as the Academy's correspondent between 1779 and 1784, although it is known that additional notebooks were submitted in earlier years, possibly in response to specific commissions.
A large portion of Beaumesnil's collection After 1787, the abbé Legros, historian of the diocese of Limoges, noted that the collections Beaumesnil sent to the Academy represented a significant portion of his broader compilation of copies of ancient works.: Having consulted the materials at Beaumesnil's residence, Legros was likely well acquainted with their contents.
In 1789, the abbé Lespine reported that at least one of Beaumesnil's collections—possibly all—was held in the Academy's depository at the Louvre under the care of the permanent secretary, Dacier. Minister Henri Bertin was aware of these collectionsBertin had, in any case, preserved a duplicate or copy of the notebook on Périgueux, now in the Archives of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Cote C 80 [notebook 1]). This notebook was found in Bertin's archives and is currently in the Taillefer collection at the Departmental Archives of Dordogne (Cote 24. Ms 29). and had commissioned a project from Beaumesnil.See a letter from Abbé Martial de Lépine. It is not known whether this order was fulfilled, nor its eventual destination. Lespine also noted that he had traveled to Limoges before Beaumesnil's death to consult his sketches.