Peter Van Dievoet
Encyclopedia
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, baptised 29 June 1661 in the church of Sainte-Gudule, died 2 March 1729 in Brussels.
He was the brother of Philippe Van Dievoet
Philippe Van Dievoet
Philippe Van Dievoet, , was a celebrated goldsmith and jeweller. He was goldsmith to King Louis XIV, conselor of the King and Consul of Paris....
, 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...
to Louis XIV and the uncle of the printer Guillaume Van Dievoet dit Vandive
Guillaume Vandive
Guillaume Vandive , Printer and ordinary bookseller of Monseigneur the Dauphin. Guillaume Vandive , was born about 1680, was baptized in Paris Church of St...
.
Life
King James IIJames 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...
when he was residing in Brussels had observed the talent of the young sculptor Peter van Dievoet, and when he return in England he asked him to come with him. Van Dievoet arrived in London with the King, in the same ship.
In London he was a regular visitor to the studio of Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an English sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including St Paul's Cathedral, Blenheim Palace and Hampton Court Palace. He was born and educated in Holland where his father was a merchant...
. In 1686, he cast and made the statue of James II for St. James's Park
St. James's Park
St. James's Park is a 23 hectare park in the City of Westminster, central London - the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St. James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.- Geographical location :St. James's...
in London. He returned to Brussels after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688.
In 1695 he was master of the Quatre-Couronnés at Brussels, the guild of stonemasons and sculptors of Brussels. He was an acclaimed sculptor and was involved in the construction of the new Grand-Place in the baroque style.
In the Marché aux Herbes, the sculptures of the White Lamb (1696) are fading away, victims of brusselization
Brusselization
Brusselization is a term used by urban planners to describe anarchic commercial property development in a historic city. The term originated as the result of the uncontrolled development of Brussels in the 1960s and 1970s, where unscrupulous developers were given free rein to build a futuristic city...
.