Jacques Roettiers
Encyclopedia
Jacques Roettiers was a noted engraver in England
and France
, and one of the most celebrated Paris
ian goldsmith
s and silversmith
s of his day.
Roettiers was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye
, near Paris, to Norbert Roettiers
(1665–1727) and his wife Winifred Clarke, niece of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. As a Roettiers, he was born into a distinguished family of medallists, engravers, and goldsmiths. Roettiers studied drawing and sculpture at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, winning a prize to be pensionnaire du Roi at the French Academy in Rome
. Instead he remained in Paris to learn medal-engraving and in 1732 moved to London. There he was appointed Engraver at the Royal Mint
.
He returned to Paris in 1733, however, where he became a master and designed a whole service for Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV of France
. In that same year, he married the sixteen-year-old daughter of Nicolas Besnier, orfèvre du Roi. In 1736 he created perhaps his finest piece for Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
(1692–1740): a Rococo
silver surtout de table representing a hunting scene (now in the Louvre
). When Besnier died in 1737, Roettiers took his position. His work proved highly fashionable, and a source of wealth and honors. In 1772 became a peer and a year later admitted into the Académie de peinture et de sculpture
. He retired in 1774, and died in Paris in 1784.
Examples of Rottiers' work can be found in the Louvre
and British Museum
. His son Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers
(1736–1788) was also a celebrated goldsmith
and silversmith
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and one of the most celebrated Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s and silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
s of his day.
Roettiers was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
, near Paris, to Norbert Roettiers
Norbert Roettiers
Norbert Roettiers was a celebrated Flanders-born engraver of currency and medals in both England and France. With his elder brother James he was named Engraver-General to the British Royal Mint in 1695....
(1665–1727) and his wife Winifred Clarke, niece of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. As a Roettiers, he was born into a distinguished family of medallists, engravers, and goldsmiths. Roettiers studied drawing and sculpture at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, winning a prize to be pensionnaire du Roi at the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
. Instead he remained in Paris to learn medal-engraving and in 1732 moved to London. There he was appointed Engraver at the Royal Mint
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the body permitted to manufacture, or mint, coins in the United Kingdom. The Mint originated over 1,100 years ago, but since 2009 it operates as Royal Mint Ltd, a company which has an exclusive contract with HM Treasury to supply all coinage for the UK...
.
He returned to Paris in 1733, however, where he became a master and designed a whole service for Louis, Dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. In that same year, he married the sixteen-year-old daughter of Nicolas Besnier, orfèvre du Roi. In 1736 he created perhaps his finest piece for Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
Louis Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, Prince of Condé was head of the cadet Bourbon-Condé branch of the French royal House of Bourbon from 1710 to his death, and served as prime minister to his kinsman Louis XV from 1723 to 1726.Despite...
(1692–1740): a Rococo
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...
silver surtout de table representing a hunting scene (now in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
). When Besnier died in 1737, Roettiers took his position. His work proved highly fashionable, and a source of wealth and honors. In 1772 became a peer and a year later admitted into 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 retired in 1774, and died in Paris in 1784.
Examples of Rottiers' work can be found in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
and British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. His son Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers
Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers
Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers was a Flemish goldsmith and silversmith active in Paris and, in concert with his father, said to be the most fashionable Parisian silversmith of his day....
(1736–1788) was also a celebrated goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
and silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
.