François Chereau
Encyclopedia
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
of portraits and reproductions of famous works of art during the reign of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
.
Early Life
He was the first son of carpenter Simon Cheréau and his wife Anne Hardouin whose second son, Jacques CheréauJacques Chereau
Jacques Chéreau was a portrait engraver, printmaker and publisher of optical prints in a neighborhood of printmakers at the Rue Saint-Jacques variously given on prints as "au Grand St. Remy," "au Coq," or "au dessus de la Fontaine St...
also became an engraver. François I moved to Paris and studied with Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran
Gérard Audran , was a French engraver of the Audran family, the third son of Claude Audran....
and Pierre Drevet. From 1712 to 1713 he did business from the Rue du Foin, in the Parish of Saint Séverin
Saint-Séverin (Paris)
The Church of Saint-Séverin is a Roman Catholic church in the Latin Quarter of Paris, located on the lively tourist street Rue Saint-Séverin...
. In 1714, François I Cheréau married 1714 Margueritte Caillou of a mercantile family from Houdan
Houdan
Houdan is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Geography:Houdan is west of Paris in the Yvelines département. It is linked by SNCF Alençon and Paris .-History:...
and Paris, with whom he had ten children. Their eldest child, François II Cheréau
François Chereau
François Cheréau, also known as François I Cheréau was an engraver of portraits and reproductions of famous works of art during the reign of Louis XIV.-Early Life:...
, was born in 1717.
Engraver to the King
In 1718 François I received the title of "engraver to the cabinet du roiMenus-Plaisirs du Roi
The Menus-Plaisirs du Roi was, in the organisation of the French royal household under the Ancien Régime, the department of the Maison du Roi responsible for the "lesser pleasures of the King", which meant in practice that it was in charge of all the preparations for ceremonies, events and...
" and was accepted by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, after presenting a portrait of the young Louis de Boullongue
Louis de Boullogne
Louis de Boullogne II , known as Boullogne fils, was a French painter.-Life:The brother of Bon Boullogne, their father Louis Boullogne feared rivalry between the two brothers if Louis the younger also became a painter and so at first opposed his wish to become a painter...
. Subsequently François I appended the designation "avec priv. du Roy" ("with the King's priviledge") to his prints
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
. Prints made for the cabinet of the king were exchanged and exhibited by the king as well as being sold at Cheréau's shop.
Also in 1718, after the death of Audran's widow, Hélène Licherie, François I Cheréau bought "Les Deux Piliers d'Or," collectively the business, premises, presses, supplies and fonds, and put his name on Audran's "Two Pillars of Gold" sign in the Rue des Malthurins Saint Jacques
Rue Saint-Jacques, Paris
The Rue Saint-Jacques is a street in the Latin Quarter of Paris which lies along the cardo of Roman Lutetia. The Boulevard Saint-Michel, driven through this old quarter of Paris by Baron Haussmann, relegated the roughly parallel rue Saint-Jacques to a backstreet, but it was a main axial road of...
, also known as "Rue Saint-Mathurin Jacques." He began selling part of the Audran catalog of prints as well as his own work. Audren's print catalog was published four times after Audran's own pre-1703 imprint: in 1718 by his widow Hélène Licherie, in 1742 and 1757 by the widow of François I Cheréau, in 1770 by François I's grandson, Jacques-François Chéreau (b 14 October 1742 - d 16 May 1794, son of Francois II Cheréau & Geneviève Marguerite Cheréau and grandson of both François I and his brother Jacques).
Their last child, Marie-Edméc Cheréau,was born after François I Cheréau's death on 16 April 1729. At that time, Margueritte was known as Madame le Veuve Cheréau (literally, "Widow Cheréau") and continued to run François I's print business with her son François II Chéreau (1717-1755) until her own death on 17 April 1755.Also on the premises was confusingly an engraver and printseller at the same address, Louise Pierrette Charpentier, who after the death her own husband, Jacques Simon I Cheréau (b. 16 October 1732 - pre 1760) became another "Widow Cheréau."
Legacy
The inventory of the business after Margueritte Cheréau's death was listed and her will recorded as C 621, 23 April, 1755 in the Extracts of the Minutier Central des notaires Parisiens. On 31 March 1768 sale of the inventoryInventory
Inventory means a list compiled for some formal purpose, such as the details of an estate going to probate, or the contents of a house let furnished. This remains the prime meaning in British English...
of goods of Francois II Cheréau (deceased 22 Feb 1755) were finalized with Jacques-François Cheréau (1742-1794). In 1787 when Jacques-François Cheréau retired, the collection ("fonds") numbering in the tens of thousands of plates, prints and plate blanks was sold to François Etienne Joubert (1787 - 1836), as well as the business premises, the mark of "Two Pillars of Gold," and book publishing records. Joubert's address is given as rue des Mathurins St. Jacques, aux Deux Piliers d'Or, Paris after the sale and his name may appear with "chez Cheréau" or alone on plates published after that date. In 1821, Joubert published "Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes" with material from the fonds Cheréau.
Artistic Works
According to Bryan: "He distinguished himself by the beauty of his touch and the correctness of his drawing, particularly inhis portraits, some of which are admirable. His portrait of the Duke of Antin
Duke of Antin
The duchy of Antin was a French duchy created in 1711 by the promotion of the marquisate of Antin into a "duché-pairie"...
, after Rigaud
Hyacinthe Rigaud
Hyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period...
, which he engraved twice, has rarely been surpassed. He died in Paris in 1729. The number of his plates is considerable, but the following are the most esteemed:"
Portraits
- Louis de BoullongueLouis de BoullogneLouis de Boullogne II , known as Boullogne fils, was a French painter.-Life:The brother of Bon Boullogne, their father Louis Boullogne feared rivalry between the two brothers if Louis the younger also became a painter and so at first opposed his wish to become a painter...
; after himself; engraved by Cheréau for his reception into the AcademyAcadémie de peinture et de sculptureThe Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture , Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples, such as the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Paris already had the Académie de Saint-Luc, which was a city artist guild like any other Guild of Saint Luke...
in 1718. - Nicolas de LargillièreNicolas de LargillièreNicolas de Largillière was a painter born in Paris, France.-Early life:Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in London. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau...
, painter; after himself. (pictured) - Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury; after Rigaud; fine.
- Cardinal Melchior de PolignacMelchior de PolignacMelchior de Polignac was a French diplomat, Roman Catholic cardinal and neo-Latin poet.A younger son of Armand XVI, marquis de Polignac, he was born at Lavoûte-sur-Loire, Haute-Loire, Auvergne. At an early age he achieved distinction as a diplomat...
; after the same; very fine. - Louis Antoine de Pardaillan de GondrinLouis Antoine de Pardaillan de GondrinLouis Antoine de Pardaillan de Gondrin , marquis of Antin, Gondrin and Montespan , then 1st Duke of Antin was a French nobleman...
, Duke of Antin; after the same. - Nicolas Delaunay; after the same. (pictured)
- Conrad Detlev von Dehn; after the same; very fine.
- Louis Pécour, Maitre de Ballet; after TournieresRobert TournièresRobert Le Vrac de Tournières was a French painter. After the Second World War, a street in the new Saint-Paul district of his birthplace of Caen was named rue Robert Tournières.-Life:...
. - Élisabeth Sophie ChéronÉlisabeth Sophie ChéronÉlisabeth Sophie Chéron is remembered today primarily as a French painter, but she was acclaimed in her lifetime as a gifted poet, musician, artist, and academicienne.-Life:...
, painter; after herself. - Louisa MaryLouisa Maria Teresa StuartLouisa Maria Teresa Stuart , known to Jacobites as The Princess Royal, was the last child of James II and VII , the deposed king of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of his queen, Mary of Modena...
, Princess of England ; after A. S. BelleAlexis Simon BelleAlexis Simon Belle was a French portrait painter, known for his portraits of the French and Jacobite nobility.-Birth:...
. - The Princess SobieskaMaria Teresa SobieskaMaria Teresa Sobieska - Polish princess, daughter of King John III Sobieski and Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien.-Biography:...
; after TrinisaniFrancesco Trevisanithumb|250px|Portrait of [[Pietro Ottoboni |Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni]] by Francesco Trevisani. The [[Bowes Museum]], [[Barnard Castle]], [[County Durham]], [[England]]....
.
Subjects after various masters
- St. John in the Wilderness; after the picture by RaphaelRaphaelRaffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
, in the OrléansOrléans-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
Gallery. - The Crucifixion; after GuidoGuido ReniGuido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
. - St. Catharine of Siena; after J. AndréAndré JeanAndré Jean , who was born in Paris, in 1662, became a Dominican in 1679. He went to Rome, where he received lessons from Carlo Maratti, and studied the works of Michelangelo and Raphael. He painted portraits and historical subjects, and has the character of being very correct in his designs, and a...
. - St. Cecilia; after MignardPierre MignardPierre Mignard , called "Le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter...
. - St. Theresa in Contemplation.
- St. Ignatius de Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus.