Étienne Maurice Falconet (1 December 1716 – 24 January 1791) was a French

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

and neoclassical sculptor, best-known for his equestrian statue of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, the ''

Bronze Horseman The ''Bronze Horseman'' (, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great in the Senate Square (Saint Petersburg), Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) Augu ...

'' (1782), in St. Petersburg, Russia, and for the small statues he produced in series for the Royal Sévres Porcelain Manufactory

Life and work

Falconet was born to a poor family in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was at first apprenticed to a marble-cutter, but some of his clay and wood figures, with the making of which he occupied his leisure hours, attracted the notice of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, who made him his pupil. One of his most successful early sculptures was of

Milo of Croton Milo or Milon of Croton () was a famous Ancient Greece, ancient Greek athlete from Crotone, Croton, which is today in the Magna Graecia region of southern Italy. Milo was a six-time winner at the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympics, once for boys' w ...

, which secured his admission to the membership of the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (; ) was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

in 1754. He came to prominent public attention in the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

s of 1755 and 1757 with his marbles of ''L'Amour'' (Cupid) and the ''Nymphe descendant au bain'' (also called ''The Bather''), which is now at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. In 1757 Falconet was appointed by the

Marquise de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French Royal court, court. She was the official maîtresse-en-titre, chief mistress of King Lou ...

as director of the sculpture atelier of the new ''Manufacture royale de porcelaine'' at

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

, where he brought new life to the manufacture of unglazed

soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its hig ...

figurines, small-scale sculptures that had been a specialty at the predecessor of the Sèvres manufactory,

Vincennes Vincennes (; ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Vincennes is famous for its castle: the Château de Vincennes. It is next to but does not include the ...

. The influence of the painter

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

and of contemporary theater and ballet are equally in evidence in Falconet's subjects, and in his sweet, elegantly erotic, somewhat coy manner. Right at the start, in the 1750s, Falconet created for Sèvres a set of white

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

porcelain garnitures of tabletop

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

(Falconet's ''"Enfants"'') illustrating "the Arts," and meant to complement the manufacture's grand dinner service ("''Service du Roy''"). The fashion for similar small table sculptures spread to most of the porcelain manufacturies of Europe. He remained at the Sèvres post until he was invited to Russia by

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

in September 1766. At

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

he executed a colossal statue of

in bronze, known as the ''

'', together with his pupil and then daughter-in-law Marie-Anne Collot. In 1788, back in Paris, he became Assistant Rector of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. Many of Falconet's religious works, commissioned for churches, were destroyed at the time of the French Revolution. His work on private commissions fared better. He found time to study

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, and also wrote several essays on art:

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...

confided to him the chapter on "Sculpture" in the ''

Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...

'', released separately by Falconet as ''Réflexions sur la sculpture'' in 1768. Three years later, he published ''Observations sur la statue de Marc-Aurèle'', which may be interpreted as the artistic program for his statue of Peter the Great. Falconet's writings on art, his ''Oeuvres littéraires'', came to six volumes when they were first published, at

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, in 1781–1782. His extensive correspondence with

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during t ...

, where he argued that the artist works out of inner necessity rather than for future fame, and that with Empress

of Russia reveal a great deal about his work and his beliefs about art. Falconet's somewhat prettified and too easy charm incurred the criticism of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'''s eleventh edition: "His artistic productions are characterized by the same defects as his writings, for though manifesting considerable cleverness and some power of imagination, they display in many cases a false and fantastic taste, the result, most probably, of an excessive striving after originality."

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

stole Falconet's ''Friendship of the Heart'' from the

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

collection at Paris for the art collection of his Carinhall hunting lodge. In 2001/2002, when the Musée de Céramique at Sèvres mounted an exhibition of Falconet's production for Sèvres, 1757–1766, its subtitle was "l'art de plaire" ("the art of pleasing")

Family

The painter Pierre-Étienne Falconet (1741–91) was his son. A draftsman and engraver, he provided illustrations to his father's entry on "Sculpture" for the Diderot ''Encyclopédie''.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falconet, Etienne Maurice 1716 births 1791 deaths 18th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Russian male sculptors Rococo sculptors Sculptors from Paris Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century sculptors from the Russian Empire 18th-century French male artists Art writers

Life and work

Family

Further reading

Notes

External links