Jean-Jacques Caffieri
Encyclopedia
Jean-Jacques Caffieri was a French sculptor. He was appointed sculpteur du Roi to Louis XV and later afforded lodgings in the Galeries du Louvre. He designed the fine rampe d'escalier which still adorns the Palais Royal
. He is better known for his portrait busts, in terracotta or marble: his bust of Madame du Barry
is at the Hermitage Museum
, St Petersburg. He made a name with his busts of Pierre Corneille
and Jean Racine
for the foyer of the Comédie Française.
and his elder brother Philippe Caffieri
were also sculptors. Jean-Jacques remained unmarried and had no children. A pensionary at the Villa Medici
in Rome from 1749 to 1753, as well as a student of François Lemoyne
, he joined the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in France in 1757. He produced bust or portraits of many great men, notably Pierre Corneille
, Thomas Corneille
, Philippe Quinault
, Jean de la Fontaine
and Jean-Philippe Rameau
, as well as the monument to Richard Montgomery
in St. Paul's Chapel in New York
. His students included Jean-Joseph Foucou
.
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
. He is better known for his portrait busts, in terracotta or marble: his bust of Madame du Barry
Madame du Barry
Jeanne Bécu, comtesse du Barry was the last Maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV of France and one of the victims of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.-Early life:...
is at the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
, St Petersburg. He made a name with his busts of Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
and Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
for the foyer of the Comédie Française.
Life
He was from a family of sculptors from Italy, which had moved to France during cardinal Mazarin's regency. His father Jacques CaffieriJacques Caffieri
Jacques Caffieri was a French sculptor, the most famous member of a family distinguished in works of sculpture, working for the most part in bronze.-Life:...
and his elder brother Philippe Caffieri
Philippe Caffieri (1714-1774)
Philippe Caffiéri was a French sculptor. The son of Jacques Caffieri, he was received as a maître fondeur-ciseleur, joined his father's workshop and sometimes signed his independent works, especially after the death of his father in 1755, P.CAFFIERI. The younger Philippe's style was gradually...
were also sculptors. Jean-Jacques remained unmarried and had no children. A pensionary at the Villa Medici
Villa Medici
The Villa Medici is a mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and now property of the French...
in Rome from 1749 to 1753, as well as a student of François Lemoyne
François Lemoyne
François Lemoyne or François Le Moine 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 joined the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in France in 1757. He produced bust or portraits of many great men, notably Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
, Thomas Corneille
Thomas Corneille
Thomas Corneille was a French dramatist.- Personal life :Born in Rouen nearly twenty years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself early. At the age of fifteen he composed a play in Latin which was performed by his fellow-pupils at the...
, Philippe Quinault
Philippe Quinault
Philippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...
, Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
and Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
, as well as the monument to Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a brigadier-general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland...
in St. Paul's Chapel in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His students included Jean-Joseph Foucou
Jean-Joseph Foucou
Jean-Joseph Foucou was a French sculptor.Foucou was born at Riez, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. A student at the École de peinture et de sculpture of Marseille, he went to Paris, where he entered the workshop of Jean-Jacques Caffieri...
.
Works
- Sculptures by Caffieri
- Buste of the comte de Muy (Louis Nicolas Victor de Félix d'OllièresLouis Nicolas Victor de Félix d'OllièresLouis Nicolas Victor de Félix d'Ollières , comte du Muy, comte de Grignan, was a French soldier and statesman from a family originating in Provence. He was made a member of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit in 1764.Former menin of the Dauphin, he remained so attached to him that he asked to be buried at...
) by Jean-Jacques Caffieri at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(1776) - Portrait bust of a young woman, terra cotta (California Palace of the Legion of Honor)