Niobe&Enfants 1770painting Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier

Jean-Antoine Chaptal (1756-1832), comte de Chanteloup

Lemonnier - Antoine-François de Fourcroy

Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier (''male''; 6 June 1743 17 August 1824) was a well-known French painter of historical subjects who was active before, during and after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

Life

Lemonnier was born in Rouen on 6 June 1743. He was a pupil of

Jean-Baptiste Descamps Jean-Baptiste Descamps (; August 28, 1714 – June 30, 1791) was a French writer on art and artists, and painter of village scenes. He later founded an academy of art and his son later became a museum curator. Biography Descamps was born in Dun ...

at the Rouen School of Fine Arts, then of

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier ...

, where he had as classmates and friends

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

and

François-André Vincent François-André Vincent (; 30 December 1746 – 4 August 1816) was a French neoclassical painter. Biography Vincent was born in Paris in 1746, the son of the miniaturist François-Elie Vincent. He studied under Joseph-Marie Vien and was ...

. With a pleasing appearance, much natural wit and excellent recommendations he was soon admitted into the best society in the capital, especially in the salon of

Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin (, née Rodet; 26 June 1699 – 6 October 1777) was a French salon holder who has been referred to as one of the leading female figures in the French Enlightenment. From 1750 to 1777, Madame Geoffrin played hos ...

, who took a liking to him. In 1772 he exhibited ''The Children of Niobe killed by Apollo and Diana'', a work that won him the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

. He lived in Rome, as a licensee of the Government, from 1774 to 1784. In this country of the arts, Lemonnier found a home full of kindness with the famous poet diplomat, Cardinal de Bernis, and devoted himself with enthusiasm to the study of masterpieces of the masters, from which he drew inspiration for the design and composition that is distinctive of his talent. Back in France, Lemonnier returned to his hometown where he painted one of his best pictures, ''the Plague of Milan'', for the chapel of the Seminary of Saint-Vivien. In 1786, during the visit of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

to Rouen on his return from Cherbourg, Lemonnier was commissioned to paint a picture whose subject was the presentation of the members of the Rouen Chamber of Commerce to the monarch. Soon after, he performed for the same company a large allegorical painting representing the engineering trade and the discovery of America. In 1789 Lemonnier was named to the Academy of Painting for his work ''la Mort d’Antoine'' (the Death of Anthony). During the

, Lemonnier was called to be part of the Committee on Monuments, and in 1794 he obtained the title of the cabinet painter of the School of Medicine. Related to

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

, on 4 December 1792 Lemonnier received from the minister a position at the Louvre which placed him on the Arts Commission, where he rendered great service. In Rouen he was charged, with his compatriot Charles Le Carpentier, to examine art works removed from suppressed religious institutions in the district and select those that should avoid destruction. He discharged this critical mission with great zeal, and it is due to Lemonnier that several churches and the museum of Rouen now possess many of the best paintings he managed to collect. In 1810 Lemonnier became director of the

Gobelins Manufactory The Gobelins Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Paris, France. It is located at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near Les Gobelins métro station in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally established on the site as a medieval ...

, a position he lost in 1816. He also took an active part in establishing the Museum of Fine Arts of Rouen. He died in Paris on 17 August 1824. Lemonnier's son, André-Hippolyte Lemonnier, was a man of letters who wrote, among other things, a historical record of the life and works of A.-C.-G. Lemonnier. Lemonnier's portrait is in the collection of Rouen Library.

Works

The best known of Lemonnier's works is without doubt ''An Evening with Madame Geoffrin'', executed in 1812 for the

Empress Josephine An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

. This painting exhibited at the Musée des Châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau is an imaginary reconstruction of the salon of

depicting, among others, the ministers Choiseul, Fontenelle,

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

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 ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

and Marmontel, their hostess and a bust of Voltaire in a scene where the actor Lekain is reading Voltaire's play '' L’Orphelin de la Chine'' (The Orphan of China). Numerous drawings by Lemonnier have survived. The following paintings are held in French museums: *''Bélisaire'', Musée des Augustins de Toulouse *''François Ier recevant dans la salle des Suisses à Fontainebleau la grande "Sainte Famille" de Raphaël'',

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen is an art museum in Rouen, in Normandy in north-western France. It was established by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1801, and is housed in a building designed by and built between 1877 and 1888. Its collections include ...

*''Jésus appelant à lui les petits enfants'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Jésus au milieu des docteurs'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''La Mission des apôtres'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''La Peste de Milan'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Esquisse de la tête de l'ange exterminateur de "La Peste de Milan"'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Les Enfants de Niobe tués par Apollon et Diane'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Paysanne de Frascati'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Portrait de l’abbé Joly, docteur en Sorbonne'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Portrait de Monsieur d’Herbouville'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Présentation de la Vierge au Temple'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Un Grec albanais'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Vue de Saint-Cloud en automne'', work has been lost *''Ycarrius, Ulysse et Pénélope'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''La Fortune'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Portrait de François Ier'', location unknown *''Cléombrote; dit aussi l’amour conjugal'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''La Mort d’Antoine'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Louis XIV assistant, dans le parc de Versailles, à l’inauguration de la statue de Milon de Crotone par Puget'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen *''Une Soirée chez Madame Geoffrin - ''ou'' Lecture de la tragédie "L’Orphelin de la Chine" de Voltaire dans le salon de Madame Geoffrin'', 1812,

Château de Malmaison The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileri ...

(Musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau) *''Première Lecture chez Madame Geoffrin de "L’Orphelin de la Chine", en 1755'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemonnier, Anicet Charles Gabriel 1743 births 1824 deaths 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters Artists from Rouen Artists from Rome Prix de Rome for painting 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists

Life

Works

References

Further reading

External links