Lambert-Sigisbert Adam
Encyclopedia
Lambert-Sigisbert Adam French
sculptor
, known as Adam l’aîné ("the elder") to distinguish him from his two sculptor brothers, was born in Nancy, the eldest son of sculptor Jacob-Sigisbert Adam.
for study at the French Academy in Rome
. In Rome Adam restored with much ability and late-Baroque freedom of interpretation a disparate group of fragmentary Roman sculptures, to form a much-admired ensemble depicting Achilles and the Daughters of Lycomedes that was purchased by the French Ambassador to the Holy See, Cardinal Melchior de Polignac
, and was purchased from his estate by Frederick the Great for Potsdam
. For the ensemble Adam reworked draped torsos of Apollo Musagetes type for the figures of Odysseus and Achilles. The head of Achilles was modelled on the antiquarian Philipp von Stosch
, "a notorious spy, homoerotic fop and gem collector" Adam was elected a member of the Roman artists' guild, the Accademia di San Luca
in 1732. He was a pensionnaire of the Academy in 1732 when he was one of the sixteen sculptors and designers who submitted plans for the new Trevi Fountain
; his design was unanimously accepted, and the process by which the decision was reversed in favour of Luigi Vanvitelli
's are not altogether clear; Roman reaction against a foreigner receiving the commission seems to have played a part, and in a letter of 1741 Adam wrote that not having received prior permission to compete from the director of the Academy, Charles Wleughels, Adam was recalled home to Paris, in 1733, as punishment.
Adam was thirty-seven when, on his election to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, he exhibited at the Paris Salon
of 1737 the model of the colossal group of Neptune and Amphitrite that was afterwards cast in lead for the central fountain in the Bassin de Neptune at Versailles
, and it made his reputation; thereafter he found much employment in the decoration of the royal residences and in garden sculpture and fountains.
The dramatic realisation of his figure of Neptune (illustration, below right) might lead one to expect that he would have been in demand for portrait busts; in fact, aside from the bust of the portrait-painter Hyacinthe Rigaud
(1726), and two versions of the young Louis XV as Apollo, none have been identified.
Among his more important works are:
The work of the brothers Adam was too boldly Berniniesque in style to win the approval of the sculptors and critics of the following generation, that found its principal protagonists in Edmé Bouchardon
and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
. Pierre-Jean Mariette
expressed the new taste in his severe criticism of the eldest of the Adam brothers:
Two of his most important works were executed for Frederick the Great
in Prussia
. Mariette remarked of Adam's Hunting and Fishing, being sent to Frederick, that they "will not have lacked for admirers in a country where one does not yet completely know the value of beautiful and noble simplicity."
The volume of a suite of etchings by various hands, after Adam's drawings, titled Recueil de sculptures antiques Grecques et Romaines (Paris, 1754) represented a group of antiquities as broadly restored by Adam that he hoped to be able to sell. They remained in his possession and appear in the inventory of his atelier at No 4, rue Basse du Rempart, which was compiled at his death.
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...
sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, known as Adam l’aîné ("the elder") to distinguish him from his two sculptor brothers, was born in Nancy, the eldest son of sculptor Jacob-Sigisbert Adam.
Biography
In 1723 Adam received the Prix de RomePrix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
for study 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:...
. In Rome Adam restored with much ability and late-Baroque freedom of interpretation a disparate group of fragmentary Roman sculptures, to form a much-admired ensemble depicting Achilles and the Daughters of Lycomedes that was purchased by the French Ambassador to the Holy See, Cardinal Melchior de Polignac
Melchior de Polignac
Melchior 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...
, and was purchased from his estate by Frederick the Great for Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
. For the ensemble Adam reworked draped torsos of Apollo Musagetes type for the figures of Odysseus and Achilles. The head of Achilles was modelled on the antiquarian Philipp von Stosch
Philipp von Stosch
Baron Philipp von Stosch was a Prussian antiquarian who lived in Rome and Florence.Stosch was born in Küstrin in the Neumark region of Brandenburg...
, "a notorious spy, homoerotic fop and gem collector" Adam was elected a member of the Roman artists' guild, the Accademia di San Luca
Accademia di San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca, was founded in 1577 as an association of artists in Rome, under the directorship of Federico Zuccari, with the purpose of elevating the work of "artists", which included painters, sculptors and architects, above that of mere craftsmen. Other founders included Girolamo...
in 1732. He was a pensionnaire of the Academy in 1732 when he was one of the sixteen sculptors and designers who submitted plans for the new Trevi Fountain
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres high and 20 metres wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world....
; his design was unanimously accepted, and the process by which the decision was reversed in favour of Luigi Vanvitelli
Luigi Vanvitelli
Luigi Vanvitelli was an Italian engineer and architect. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practiced a sober classicizing academic Late Baroque style that made an easy transition to Neoclassicism.-Biography:Vanvitelli was born at Naples, the son of a Dutch painter of land and...
's are not altogether clear; Roman reaction against a foreigner receiving the commission seems to have played a part, and in a letter of 1741 Adam wrote that not having received prior permission to compete from the director of the Academy, Charles Wleughels, Adam was recalled home to Paris, in 1733, as punishment.
Adam was thirty-seven when, on his election to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, he exhibited at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
of 1737 the model of the colossal group of Neptune and Amphitrite that was afterwards cast in lead for the central fountain in the Bassin de Neptune at 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....
, and it made his reputation; thereafter he found much employment in the decoration of the royal residences and in garden sculpture and fountains.
The dramatic realisation of his figure of Neptune (illustration, below right) might lead one to expect that he would have been in demand for portrait busts; in fact, aside from the bust of the portrait-painter Hyacinthe 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...
(1726), and two versions of the young Louis XV as Apollo, none have been identified.
Among his more important works are:
- The Virgin Appearing to St Andrew Corsini 1732, a relief for Pope Clement XIIPope Clement XIIPope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...
’s Cappella Corsini, San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. - Nymphs and Tritons
- Hunter with Lion in his Net, a relief for the chapel of St Adelaide
- The Seine and the Marne (1733-34) in stone for Antoine Le Pautre's grand cascade at the Château de Saint-CloudChâteau de Saint-CloudThe Château de Saint-Cloud was a Palace in France, built on a magnificent site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about 10 kilometres west of Paris. Today it is a large park on the outskirts of the capital and is owned by the state, but the area as a whole has had a large...
- The Triumph of Neptune stilling the Waves 1737, reception piece for the Academy (Musée du Louvre).
- Hunting and Fishing, marble groups for SanssouciSanssouciSanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
- Mars embraced by Love
- The enthusiasm of Poetry
Edmé Bouchardon
Edmé Bouchardon was a French sculptor, esteemed in his day as the greatest sculptor of his time and valued as a draughtsman as well.-Biography:...
and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle
Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French sculptor.He was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the Grand Prix, after a severe struggle he entered the Académie Royale and became one of the most popular sculptors of his day.His earlier work, such as Child with Cage ...
. Pierre-Jean Mariette
Pierre-Jean Mariette
Pierre-Jean Mariette was a collector of and dealer in old master prints, a renowned connoisseur, especially of prints and drawings, and a chronicler of the careers of French Italian and Flemish artists...
expressed the new taste in his severe criticism of the eldest of the Adam brothers:
- "This artist put into everything that he did a savage and barbarous taste and only rendered himself noted because one imagined that no one knew how to carve out marble as he did, and, to demonstrate it, he worked in such manner that everything formed hollows in his works. Thus do his figures have more the air of rockwork than of anything else at all."
Two of his most important works were executed for Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
in Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Mariette remarked of Adam's Hunting and Fishing, being sent to Frederick, that they "will not have lacked for admirers in a country where one does not yet completely know the value of beautiful and noble simplicity."
The volume of a suite of etchings by various hands, after Adam's drawings, titled Recueil de sculptures antiques Grecques et Romaines (Paris, 1754) represented a group of antiquities as broadly restored by Adam that he hoped to be able to sell. They remained in his possession and appear in the inventory of his atelier at No 4, rue Basse du Rempart, which was compiled at his death.