François Lemoyne
Encyclopedia
François Lemoyne or François Le Moine (1688 – 4 June 1737) was a French rococo
painter.
He was born in Paris. In 1701, when he was 13 years old, he entered the Académie de peinture et de sculpture
. He studied under Louis Galloche
and stayed until 1713. In 1711, Lemoyne won the Prix de Rome. He was accepted as a member of the Académie in 1718 and was elected as a professor in 1733.
The duc d'Antin (Louis-Antoine de Pardaillan de Grondin) was the director of the Batiments and had a competition in 1727 for history painters of the Académie. Twelve large history paintings were submitted. Lemoyne had to share the first prize with his competitor Jean-François de Troy (Paris 1679 - Rome 1752).
His work and talent, notably plied in Versailles
, earned him the name of the "new Le Brun
". He became Premier peintre du Roi
and worked with other artists of the era, such as Nonotte, Gilles Dutilleul, Charles de La Fosse
and Coypel
. However, the excess of work, court intrigues at Versailles, and the death of his wife drove him to madness. He committed suicide in Paris in 1737 by stabbing himself seven times, six months after finishing the ceiling painting ("L'apothéose d'Hercule") in the Salon d'Hercule
in the grand appartement du roi
. With his death, the fashion of large allegorical ceilings disappeared.
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
painter.
He was born in Paris. In 1701, when he was 13 years old, he entered the Académie de peinture et de sculpture
Académie de peinture et de sculpture
The 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...
. He studied under Louis Galloche
Louis Galloche
Louis Galloche was a French painter. A student of Louis de Boullogne, his own students included François Lemoyne, Charles-Joseph Natoire and François Boucher.-Life:...
and stayed until 1713. In 1711, Lemoyne won the Prix de Rome. He was accepted as a member of the Académie in 1718 and was elected as a professor in 1733.
The duc d'Antin (Louis-Antoine de Pardaillan de Grondin) was the director of the Batiments and had a competition in 1727 for history painters of the Académie. Twelve large history paintings were submitted. Lemoyne had to share the first prize with his competitor Jean-François de Troy (Paris 1679 - Rome 1752).
His work and talent, notably plied in Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
, earned him the name of the "new Le Brun
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
". He became Premier peintre du Roi
Premier peintre du Roi
The Premier peintre du Roi was a post within the administration of the Bâtiments du Roi of the département de la Maison du Roi in France under the Ancien Régime, just below the post of directeur général des Bâtiments, Arts et Manufactures de France...
and worked with other artists of the era, such as Nonotte, Gilles Dutilleul, Charles de La Fosse
Charles de La Fosse
Charles de La Fosse , French painter, was born in Paris.He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils of Le Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorative works undertaken in the reign of Louis XIV. Leaving France in 1662, he spent two years in Rome and three in...
and Coypel
Coypel
Coypel is the name of a French family of painters, including* Noël Coypel 1628-1707,* Antoine Coypel, 1661-1722, son of Noël,* Charles-Antoine Coypel 1694-1752, son of Antoine,* Noël Nicholas Coypel 1690-1734, son of Noël and half-brother of Antoine...
. However, the excess of work, court intrigues at Versailles, and the death of his wife drove him to madness. He committed suicide in Paris in 1737 by stabbing himself seven times, six months after finishing the ceiling painting ("L'apothéose d'Hercule") in the Salon d'Hercule
Salon d'Hercule
The salon d'Hercule is on the first floor of the Château de Versailles and connects the chapel and the North Wing of the château with grand appartement du roi....
in the grand appartement du roi
Grand appartement du roi
This article is about the grand appartement du roi of the Palace of Versailles.As a result of Louis LeVau’s envelope of Louis XIII’s château, the king and queen had new apartments in the new addition, known at the time as the château neuf...
. With his death, the fashion of large allegorical ceilings disappeared.
Works
- Louis XV donnant la Paix à l'Europe, Salon de la Paix in VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
(1727) - Ceiling of the Salon d'HerculeSalon d'HerculeThe salon d'Hercule is on the first floor of the Château de Versailles and connects the chapel and the North Wing of the château with grand appartement du roi....
in Versailles (1736) - Arch of the Church of Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin in Paris
- Diane chasseresseDiana (mythology)In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
- Les Nymphes
- Narcisse
- He also worked at Saint-SulpiceSaint-Sulpice (Paris)Saint-Sulpice is a Roman Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of the Place Saint-Sulpice, in the Luxembourg Quarter of the VIe arrondissement. At 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, it is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and thus the second largest church in...
and at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-PrésAbbey of Saint-Germain-des-PrésThe Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, just beyond the outskirts of early medieval Paris, was the burial place of Merovingian kings of Neustria...