Nicolas de Largillière
Encyclopedia
Nicolas de Largillière was a painter
born in Paris
, France
.
. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau. However, Largillière left at the age of eighteen and went to England, where he was befriended and employed by Peter Lely
for four years at Windsor, Berkshire
.
, who wished to retain Largillière in his service, but the controversy aroused by the Rye House Plot
against Roman Catholics alarmed Largillière. Largillière left for Paris, where he was well-received by the public as a painter.
Upon ascending to the throne in 1685, James II
requested Largillière to return to England. James II offered Largillière the office of keeper of the royal collections, but he declined due to being uneasy about Rye House Plot. However, during a short stay in London, he painted portraits of the king, the queen Mary of Modena
, and the prince of Wales James Francis Edward Stuart
. The portrait of the Prince of Wales could not have been painted during Largillière's stay in London because the prince was not born until 1688. The three portraits painted by Largillière of the prince in his youth must have been executed in Paris, where he returned sometime before March 1686. The portrait of King James II was painted in 1686. King James is portrayed in golden armor with a white cravat and is positioned in front of a watercolour-like background set in a round frame.
for admittance to the French Academy. The portrait shows Le Brun, then the chairman of the academy, at work on an entombment, surrounded by classical busts and figurines scattered upon the floor and table within the picture. Le Brun, impressed by Largillière's portrait, accepted him to the academy. In 1690, Largillière was documented by the French Academy as a historical painter, which was a prominent artistic trend of the academy until the introduction of Edouard Manet
.
In 1693, Largillière painted the Governor of Arras, Pierre de Montesquiou, to celebrate his promotion to brigadier in 1691.
In 1694, Largillière's made a multi-figure work that is displayed in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
.
In 1709, Largillière painted the royal family portrait of The Family of Louis XIV. This portrait shows King Louis XIV
, Madame de Ventadour (governess of the children of the Duke of Burgundy), the 3-year old Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712), Louis, Grand Dauphin
and Louis, Duke of Burgundy, future dauphin. The King displays a sense of slight uneasiness unlike the other figures especially. In the painting, Largillière used the Renaissance technique of structured disposition.
A year later, Largillière painted a self portrait which also contained two female members of his family.
Towards the end of his life, Largillière painted a repetition of anonymous male portraits of Parisian nobles. One example was painted in 1710, of a man standing with spread fingers that conceal a letter held in the other hand. Another portrait from about 1715 shows a frontal three quarter view of a man dressed in similar clothes and wig with a Doric column in the background.
During 1714, Largillière painted the Frederick the Strong
. Largillière also painted the artist Jacques-Antoine Arlaud
in a red robe in a similar fashion to Largillière’s portrait of the painter Charles Le Brun, as well as the sculptor Nicolas Couston. Around the next year, Largillière painted The Study of Different Types of Hands, which currently resides in the Louvre.
In 1718, Largillière painted the French poet and essayist Voltaire.
The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem was a landscape painting that Largillière painted in 1720.
Largillière made his last self-portrait in 1725. This portrait displays the artist at his easel staring toward the audience.
Largillière was appointed as chancellor of the French Academy in 1743.
(University of Oxford), the Fitzwilliam Museum
(University of Cambridge), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
, the Louvre
, the National Gallery of Art
(Washington D.C.), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
(Kansas City, Missouri), the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
and Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon) are among the public collections holding works by Nicolas de Largillière.
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
and Jacob van Schuppen
, Largillière's pupil and nephew respectively, were also rococo painters.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
born in 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...
, 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...
.
Early life
Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in LondonLondon
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...
. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau. However, Largillière left at the age of eighteen and went to England, where he was befriended and employed by Peter Lely
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
for four years at Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
.
Early career
His painting caught the attention of Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, who wished to retain Largillière in his service, but the controversy aroused by the Rye House Plot
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. Historians vary in their assessment of the degree to which details of the conspiracy were finalized....
against Roman Catholics alarmed Largillière. Largillière left for Paris, where he was well-received by the public as a painter.
Upon ascending to the throne in 1685, James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
requested Largillière to return to England. James II offered Largillière the office of keeper of the royal collections, but he declined due to being uneasy about Rye House Plot. However, during a short stay in London, he painted portraits of the king, the queen Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena was Queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of King James II and VII. A devout Catholic, Mary became, in 1673, the second wife of James, Duke of York, who later succeeded his older brother Charles II as King James II...
, and the prince of Wales James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
. The portrait of the Prince of Wales could not have been painted during Largillière's stay in London because the prince was not born until 1688. The three portraits painted by Largillière of the prince in his youth must have been executed in Paris, where he returned sometime before March 1686. The portrait of King James II was painted in 1686. King James is portrayed in golden armor with a white cravat and is positioned in front of a watercolour-like background set in a round frame.
The French Academy
In Paris, during the year 1686, Largillière produced a portrait of the painter Charles Le BrunCharles 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:...
for admittance to the French Academy. The portrait shows Le Brun, then the chairman of the academy, at work on an entombment, surrounded by classical busts and figurines scattered upon the floor and table within the picture. Le Brun, impressed by Largillière's portrait, accepted him to the academy. In 1690, Largillière was documented by the French Academy as a historical painter, which was a prominent artistic trend of the academy until the introduction of Edouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
.
In 1693, Largillière painted the Governor of Arras, Pierre de Montesquiou, to celebrate his promotion to brigadier in 1691.
In 1694, Largillière's made a multi-figure work that is displayed in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the Ve arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris....
.
In 1709, Largillière painted the royal family portrait of The Family of Louis XIV. This portrait shows King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, Madame de Ventadour (governess of the children of the Duke of Burgundy), the 3-year old Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712), Louis, Grand Dauphin
Louis, Grand Dauphin
Louis of France was the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France, and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. As the heir apparent to the French throne, he was styled Dauphin...
and Louis, Duke of Burgundy, future dauphin. The King displays a sense of slight uneasiness unlike the other figures especially. In the painting, Largillière used the Renaissance technique of structured disposition.
A year later, Largillière painted a self portrait which also contained two female members of his family.
Later career
During 1714, Largillière painted the Frederick the Strong
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
. Largillière also painted the artist Jacques-Antoine Arlaud
Jacques-Antoine Arlaud
Jacques Antoine Arlaud was born at Geneva in 1668. His first employment in art was the painting of small ornamental miniatures for the jewellers at Dijon. He however attempted some portraits, and was sufficiently successful to encourage him to settle at Paris, when he was about twenty years of age...
in a red robe in a similar fashion to Largillière’s portrait of the painter Charles Le Brun, as well as the sculptor Nicolas Couston. Around the next year, Largillière painted The Study of Different Types of Hands, which currently resides in the Louvre.
In 1718, Largillière painted the French poet and essayist Voltaire.
The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem was a landscape painting that Largillière painted in 1720.
Largillière made his last self-portrait in 1725. This portrait displays the artist at his easel staring toward the audience.
Largillière was appointed as chancellor of the French Academy in 1743.
Death
Upon his death, Largillière donated to France several small landscapes and still life pictures that he created. At the age of 89, Nicolas de Largillière died on the March 20, 1746.Legacy
The Ashmolean MuseumAshmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum...
(University of Oxford), the Fitzwilliam Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge, located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge, England. It receives around 300,000 visitors annually. Admission is free....
(University of Cambridge), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, 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...
, the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
(Washington D.C.), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art....
(Kansas City, Missouri), the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg is the old masters paintings collection of the city of Strasbourg, located in the Alsace region of France. The museum is housed in the first and second floors of the baroque Palais Rohan since 1898...
and Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon) are among the public collections holding works by Nicolas de Largillière.
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:...
and Jacob van Schuppen
Jacob van Schuppen
Jacob van Schuppen was an Austrian Baroque painter.-Biography:Born in Fontainebleau, France, as the son of the painter-engraver Pieter van Schuppen, he worked in the Netherlands before moving to Vienna...
, Largillière's pupil and nephew respectively, were also rococo painters.