Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy (22 June 1736 – 27 February 1804) was a French Navy officer and painter of the 18th century. He especially painted naval scenes.

Biography

Cercy was born in

Dompierre-sur-Mer Dompierre-sur-Mer (, literally ''Dompierre on Sea'') is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. Population Personalities * Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy * Jacques Archambault, Early settler of New France with his ...

in 1736 from an aristocratic family. He joined the French Navy as a

Garde-Marine In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Gardes de la Marine (Guards of the Navy), or Gardes-Marine were young gentlemen undergoing training to be naval officers. The training program was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1670 and lasted until Ad ...

in 1751 in Rochefort. In 1752, he was appointed to ''Friponne''. In 1754, he transferred on the 50-gun ''Aigle'', and the year after on the 64-gun ''Inflexible''. In 1756, he served first on the frigate ''Aquilon'', and then on the 80-gun ''Duc de Bourgogne'', and the year after on the 64-gun ''Saint Michel''. From 1759, Cercy served on the frigates ''Aragon'', ''Sardaigne'' and ''Oiseau'', before transferred to the ship ''Content''. In 1765, Cercy was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. The year after, he served on ''Coulisse''. In 1770, he was first officer on the 64-gun ''Bizarre''. In 1773, he was made a Knight in the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

. In 1775, he was appointed to the frigate ''Zéphir''. In 1779, he retired with the rank of captain. He started painting around that time. In 1778, he illustrated the

action of 17 June 1778 The action of 17 June 1778 also known as the Fight of ''Belle Poule'' and ''Arethusa'' was a minor naval action that took place off the coast of France between British and French frigates. The action was widely celebrated by both France and Great ...

between ''Belle Poule'' and HMS ''Arethusa'', the action of 15 February 1783 between ''Concorde'' and HMS ''Magnificent''. The year after, he painted the

action of 17 August 1779 The action of 17 August 1779 was a naval battle between a French and a British Squadron (naval), squadron in the English Channel on 17 August 1779. In June 1779, Spain followed France declaring war on Britain and together formed a Armada of 177 ...

between ''Junon'' and ''Gentille'' against HMS ''Ardent'', and the Battle of Martinique. He also painted the Battle of Martinique of 1780. At the Salon de la Correspondance in 1786, he showed landscapes of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. That same year, Louis XVI decided to have depictions of the French naval victories of the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

made, and he chose Cercy to make them. He died in 1804 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * * * External links
Works by Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy
18th-century French painters French male painters French Navy officers 19th-century French painters 1736 births 1804 deaths 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists {{France-artist-stub