Pierre Julien
Encyclopedia
Pierre Julien was a French sculptor who worked in a full range of rococo
and neoclassical styles
.
He served an early apprenticeship at Le Puy-en-Velay
, near his natal village of Saint-Paulien
, then at the École de dessin of Lyon, then entered the Parisian atelier of Guillaume Coustou the Younger
. In 1765 he won a Prix de Rome
for sculpture with a bas-relief panel of a subject from Antiquity
and entered the École royale des élèves protégés, which offered a special couse of study under the direction of the painter Louis-Michel van Loo
. He was a pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome
, 1768 to 1773, where he was influenced by the tide of neoclassicism that affected his fellow students. As pensionnaires were expected to do, he sent back to France a marble copy from the Antique, slightly reduced in scale, of the so-called Cleopatra, the Vatican's Sleeping Ariadne
, which remains at Versailles
.
On his return to France and his former master, he worked on the sculpture for the mausoleum of Louis, le Grand Dauphin in the cathedral of Sens. After a failed try in 1776, with his Ganymede, he was received by the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1778, with a Dying Gladiator for his morceau de réception He was named one of the original members of the Institut de France
, 1795, and a chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur
, 1804.
He received commissions from the comte d'Angiviller
, director of the Bâtiments du Roi
, on behalf of Louis XVI
for figures in a suite of life-size portraits of the great men of France: he realized a Jean de La Fontaine
and a Nicolas Poussin
, whom he elected to represent in his nightclothes, approximating the draperies of a Roman toga
. While fulfilling commissions in Paris, for the Church of Sainte-Geneviève (now the Panthéon, Paris
), or at the Pavillon de Flore
of the Louvre
, he sculpted in 1785 a virtuoso marble ensemble of the nymph Amalthea
and the goat that nurtured Jupiter
for the Queen's fastidiously-appointed Dairy (La Laiterie) at the Château de Rambouillet
; for his model, he adapted the pose of the famous Capitoline Venus
. Bas-reliefs from the Laiterie, reckoned among his masterpieces, were sold at auction in 1819, but were retrieved by the State in 2005, thanks to a gift from the son of the great dealer-collector Daniel Wildenstein
.
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
and neoclassical styles
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
.
He served an early apprenticeship at Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.-History:Le Puy-en-Velay was a major bishopric in medieval France, founded early, though its early history is legendary...
, near his natal village of Saint-Paulien
Saint-Paulien
Saint-Paulien is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.-References:*...
, then at the École de dessin of Lyon, then entered the Parisian atelier of Guillaume Coustou the Younger
Guillaume Coustou the Younger
Guillaume Coustou the Younger was a French sculptor.The son of Guillaume Coustou the Elder and nephew of Nicolas Coustou, he trained in the family atelier and studied at the French Academy in Rome, 1736–39, as winner of the Prix de Rome...
. In 1765 he won a Prix de Rome
Prix 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 sculpture with a bas-relief panel of a subject from Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and entered the École royale des élèves protégés, which offered a special couse of study under the direction of the painter Louis-Michel van Loo
Louis-Michel van Loo
Louis-Michel van Loo was a French painter.He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, and he won a prize at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris in 1725...
. He was a pensionnaire 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:...
, 1768 to 1773, where he was influenced by the tide of neoclassicism that affected his fellow students. As pensionnaires were expected to do, he sent back to France a marble copy from the Antique, slightly reduced in scale, of the so-called Cleopatra, the Vatican's Sleeping Ariadne
Sleeping Ariadne
The Sleeping Ariadne of the Vatican Museums, Rome, a Roman Hadrianic copy of a Hellenistic sculpture of the Pergamene school of the 2nd century BCE, is one of the most renowned sculptures of Antiquity...
, which remains 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....
.
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
, 1795, and a chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, 1804.
He received commissions from the comte d'Angiviller
Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, comte d'Angiviller
Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, comte d'Angiviller was the director of the Bâtiments du Roi, a forerunner of a minister of fine arts in charge of the royal building works, under Louis XVI of France, from 1775...
, director of the Bâtiments du Roi
Bâtiments du Roi
The Bâtiments du Roi was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.-History:...
, on behalf of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
for figures in a suite of life-size portraits of the great men of France: he realized a 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 a Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
, whom he elected to represent in his nightclothes, approximating the draperies of a Roman toga
Toga
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
. While fulfilling commissions in Paris, for the Church of Sainte-Geneviève (now the Panthéon, Paris
Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...
), or at the Pavillon de Flore
Pavillon de Flore
The Pavillon de Flore is a section of the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France. Its construction began in 1595, during the reign of Henry IV, and has had numerous renovations since. The structure stands along the south face of the Louvre Museum, near the Pont Royal...
of the Louvre
Palais du Louvre
The Louvre Palace , on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, is a former royal palace situated between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois...
, he sculpted in 1785 a virtuoso marble ensemble of the nymph Amalthea
Amalthea
Amalthea can refer to:*Amalthea , the foster-mother of Zeus in Greek mythology.*Amaltheia, alternative name of the Cumaean Sibyl*Amalthea *Amalthea , the fifth moon of Jupiter....
and the goat that nurtured Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
for the Queen's fastidiously-appointed Dairy (La Laiterie) at the Château de Rambouillet
Château de Rambouillet
The château de Rambouillet is a castle in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris...
; for his model, he adapted the pose of the famous Capitoline Venus
Capitoline Venus
The Capitoline Venus is a type of statue of Venus, specifically one of several Venus Pudica types , of which several examples exist. The type ultimately derives from the Aphrodite of Cnidus...
. Bas-reliefs from the Laiterie, reckoned among his masterpieces, were sold at auction in 1819, but were retrieved by the State in 2005, thanks to a gift from the son of the great dealer-collector Daniel Wildenstein
Daniel Wildenstein
Daniel Leopold Wildenstein was a French art dealer and scholar, as well as a leading thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder....
.
Major works
- Gladiateur mourant, marble, 1779), Musée du Louvre.
- Ganymède versant le nectar à Jupiter changé en aigle, marble group, 1776 - 1778), Paris, musée du Louvre
- Jean de La FontaineJean de La FontaineJean 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...
, marble, 1783-85. Musée du Louvre - Nicolas PoussinNicolas PoussinNicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
, marble, 1789 - 1804. Musée du Louvre - Nicolas Poussin terracotta sketch model, about 1787 - 1788. Musée du Louvre
- Amalthée et la chèvre de Jupiter , marble group, 1787 for the Laiterie at Rambouillet. Musée du Louvre
- La Jeune fille à la chèvre , terracotta statuette, 1786. Musée du Louvre
- Sainte Geneviève rendant la vue à sa mère , terracotta bas-relief, 1776. Musée du Louvre
External links
- Grove Dictionary of Art on-line excerpts