John Francis Rigaud
Encyclopedia
History painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...
, portrait
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
, and decorative painter.
Rigaud was born in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
on 18 May 1742 and baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
on 9 September. He was the second son of James Dutilh or Rigaud and Jeanne Françoise Guiraudet. His father came from a family of Protestant merchants; his grandfather Jacques Dutilh, and his family, had fled from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Jacques died on the journey, and his widow assumed her maiden name—Rigaud—by which the family became known.
After demonstrating artistic ability, Rigaud studied with Cav. Claudio Francesco Beaumont
Claudio Francesco Beaumont
Cavaliere Claudio Francesco Beaumont, was born in Turin. After studying some time in his native city, he went to Rome, and applied himself to copying the works of Raphael, the Carracci, and Guido Reni. He appears to have had little respect for the Roman painters of his time, except Trevisani,...
of Turin, historical painter to the king of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. He left Beaumont to travel Italy and study the art of painting in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, where he was made a member of the Accademia Clementina in 1766. He next traveled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, but had to return home due to family considerations. In January 1768, he traveled once again, this time to Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Bologna, and Rome. He settled there and studied the city's art, particularly the old master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
s, and participated in life-drawing schools. He produced what the Dictionary of National Biography
Dictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
article describes as "one of his most important works" there: Hercules Resting from his Labours. While in Rome, Rigaud became friends with the Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel , Swedish sculptor, was born in Stockholm.-Biography:After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology, a colossal representation of "History,"...
and the Irish painter James Barry
James Barry (painter)
James Barry , Irish painter, best remembered for his six part series of paintings entitled The Progress of Human Culture in the Great Room of the Royal Society of Arts...
. In April 1770, he and Barry traveled together to Florence, Bologna, and Turin. Rigaud himself went to 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...
for a short time and then to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in December 1771. He exhibited his Hercules at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1772 and was elected an associate that same year.
While Rigaud consistently exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy, "his most lucrative and engrossing employment was decorative painting for the town and country houses of the nobility, including Lord Gower, Lord Sefton, and the earl of Aylesford". The architect William Chambers
William Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
offered him work in London at Melbourne' House in Piccadilly (1772 and 1774) and Somerset House (1780). He also helped decorate the common council chamber of the Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
in London (1794) and for Trinity House (1796). According to the Dictionary of National Biography, [t]hese works were all executed in the fashionable Italian style of G. B. Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani , Italian painter and engraver, Pistoiese by descent, was born in Florence.-History:His first lessons were given him by a Florentine of English descent, Ignatius Hugford, and then under Anton Domenico Gabbiani...
and Biagio Rebecca
Biagio Rebecca
Biagio Rebecca was an Italian painter, active mainly as a fresco decorator in England. Born in Rome, his apprenticeship is unknown. In England, he was known for neoclassical scenes from mythology, often collaborating with Robert Adam for example at Harewood House and at Kedleston Hall. He also...
, being mostly classical figures and imitations of bas-reliefs".
Thomas Macklin
Thomas Macklin was a British 18th-century printseller and picture dealer.Macklin married Hannah Kenting in 1777 and started a printselling business in London in 1779. His first year, his sold 7,000 copies of a print of Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt...
, Robert Bowyer
Robert Bowyer
Robert Bowyer was a British miniature painter and publisher.Bowyer was born in Portsmouth to Amos and Betty Ann Bowyer and baptized on 18 June 1758. His first job was as a clerk to a merchant in Portsmouth and then London. Two different accounts of his career shift survive...
, and the Shakespeare Gallery
Boydell Shakespeare Gallery
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London, England, was the first stage of a three-part project initiated in November 1786 by engraver and publisher John Boydell in an effort to foster a school of British history painting...
of John Boydell
John Boydell
John Boydell was an 18th-century British publisher noted for his reproductions of engravings. He helped alter the trade imbalance between Britain and France in engravings and initiated a British tradition in the art form...
in the late 1780s. He was also commissioned to paint two religious works: Descent from the Cross for the Roman Catholic Sardinian Embassy Chapel
Sardinian Embassy Chapel
The Sardinian Embassy Chapel was an important Roman Catholic church attached to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Lincoln's Inn area of London.-History:...
in London in 1780 and Accession for St Martin's Outwich in 1797. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, "his historical paintings were not well received".
Francesco Bartolozzi
Francesco Bartolozzi was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London.He was born in Florence...
, Agostino Carlini
Agostino Carlini
Agostino Carlini was an Italian sculptor and painter, who was born in Genoa but settled in England.He was also one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768...
, and Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani
Giovanni Battista Cipriani , Italian painter and engraver, Pistoiese by descent, was born in Florence.-History:His first lessons were given him by a Florentine of English descent, Ignatius Hugford, and then under Anton Domenico Gabbiani...
in 1777 and of Sir Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, Sir William Chambers, and Joseph Wilton
Joseph Wilton
Joseph Wilton was an English sculptor and one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768 .Born to a wealthy family in London, Wilton trained in Flanders, Paris, Rome and Florence...
in 1782. He also painted a series of naval heroes, including Lord Nelson. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, "[h]is portraits tend to be strongly characterized and boldly conceived, even occasionally eccentric".
On 10 February 1784 Rigaud was formally elected to the Royal Society, with Samson Breaking his Bands as his diploma work. In 1795, he was appointed historical painter to Gustavus IV of Sweden and was made a member of the Royal Academy of Stockholm
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts
The Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
. However, after 1800, according to the Dictionary of National Biography, "Rigaud's career as a painter seems to have declined". He translated Leonardo da Vinci's
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
A Treatise on Painting
A Treatise on Painting
A Treatise on Painting is a collection of Leonardo da Vinci's writings entered in his notebooks under the general heading "On Painting". The manuscripts were gathered together by Francesco Melzi sometime before 1542 and first printed in French and Italian as Trattato della pittura by Raffaelo du...
(1802) and he restored painted decorations such as those in Greenwich Hospital and Montague House.
Rigaud and Mary Williams (1740? – 1808) married on 21 July 1774. The couple had three daughters and one son, Stephen Francis Dutilh Rigaud, who also became a painter. After his wife's death, Righad lived with his son. He died from apoplexy
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
on 6 December 1810 at Packington Hall
Packington Hall
Packington Hall is a 17th century mansion situated at Great Packington, near Meriden, Warwickshire, England the seat of the Earl of Aylesford. It is a Grade II* listed building....
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and was buried in Packington.