Charles-Nicolas Cochin (22 February 1715 – 29 April 1790) was a French engraver, designer, writer, and

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

. To distinguish him from his father of the same name, he is variously called Charles-Nicolas Cochin le Jeune (the Younger), Charles-Nicolas Cochin le fils (the son), or Charles-Nicolas Cochin II.

Early life

Cochin was born in Paris, the son of

Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Elder Charles Nicolas Cochin the Elder (29 April 1688 – 5 July 1754) was a French Line engraving, line-engraver. He was born in Paris in 1688. His father, Charles Cochin, was a painter, and Charles Nicolas followed the same profession until he was t ...

(1688–1754), under whom he studied engraving.Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger
at britannica.com (accessed 11 February 2008) His mother was Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels (1686–1767), who herself was an important engraver in Paris for some fifty years.Louise-Magdeleine Horthemels: Reproductive Engraver
by Elizabeth Poulson in ''Woman's Art Journal'', vol. 6, no. 2 (Autumn, 1985 – Winter, 1986), pp. 2023Heinecken, Karl-Heinrich von, ''Idée générale d'une collection complette d'estampes'' (Jean Paul Kraus, Leipzig & Vienna, 1771) p. 175 Beyond his artistic education, Cochin taught himself Latin, English, and Italian, and he read the work of the

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

in the original. As well as having natural talent and academic training, Cochin benefited from good connections in the world of art.Charles-Nicolas Cochin, b. 1715 Paris, d. 1790 Paris, draftsman
, short biography at getty.edu (accessed 11 February 2008) As well as both of his parents being engravers, his mother's two sisters, Marie-Nicole Horthemels (b. 1689, died after 1745) and

Marie-Anne-Hyacinthe Horthemels Marie-Anne-Hyacinthe Horthemels (1682 – 24 March 1727) was a French engraver, wife of the King's engraver Nicolas-Henri Tardieu. Biography Marie-Anne-Hyacinthe Horthemels was one of three daughters of the Dutch bookseller Daniel Horthemels (c. ...

(1682–1727), worked in the same field. Marie-Nicole was married to the portrait artist

Alexis Simon Belle Alexis Simon Belle (12 January 1674 – 21 November 1734) was a French portrait painter, known for his portraits of the French and Jacobite nobility. As a portrait artist, Belle's style followed that of his master François de Troy, Hyacinthe R ...

, while Marie-Anne-Hyacinthe was the wife of Nicolas-Henri Tardieu. Tardieu (1674–1749) was another eminent French engraver, a member of the academy from 1720, who engraved the works of masters of the Renaissance and of his own time. The Horthemels family, originally from The Netherlands, were followers of the Dutch theologian

Cornelis Jansen Cornelius Jansen (, ; Latinized name Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres in Flanders and the father of a theological movement known as Jansenism. Biography He wa ...

and had links with the Parisian abbey of

Port-Royal des Champs Port-Royal-des-Champs was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions. History The abbey was established in 1204, but became fam ...

, the centre of Jansenist thought in France. In the 1730s, Cochin was a member of the ''Gobelins group'' which centred around Charles Parrocel.

Career

Cochin rose quickly to success and fame. As early as 1737, he was employed by the young King Louis XV to make engravings to commemorate every birth, marriage, and funeral at the king's court, and from 1739 he was formally attached as designer and engraver to the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, where all such ephemeral occasions were produced. As well as being an engraver to the court, he was also a designer, a writer on art, and a

portrait artist Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

.Charles Nicolas Cochin
from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition (2007) at encyclopedia.com (accessed 11 February 2008) In 1749 Mme de Pompadour selected Cochin to accompany her brother Abel Poisson, the future marquis de Marigny, on a study tour of Italy, in the company of the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot and the art-critic

Jean-Bernard, abbé Le Blanc Jean-Bernard, abbé Le Blanc (1707–1781, Paris) was a French art critic, one of the Parisian ''literati'', who through his patron Mme de Pompadour was appointed historiographer of the Bâtiments du Roi, the defender of state expenditures and offi ...

. Cochin, Soufflot and Marigny remained close friends on their return, when their considerable combined influence did much to bring about the triumph of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

in France. On his return in 1751 he was admitted a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, where he had been ''agréé'' since 1741. In 1752, following the death of

Charles-Antoine Coypel Charles-Antoine Coypel (11 July 1694 – 14 June 1752) was a French painter, art commentator, and playwright. He became court painter to the French king and director of the Académie Royale. He inherited the title of ''Garde des tableaux et de ...

, he was appointed as Coypel's successor as keeper of the king's drawings and given a lodging in the Louvre.Biographie de Charles Nicolas Cochin (1715–1790)
at adlitteram.free.fr (accessed 11 February 2008) From 1755 to 1770, he had the title of the King's administrator of the arts, and in this role he commissioned work from other artists, established programmes for the decoration of the king's

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

s and chateaux, and granted pensions. Between 1750 and 1773, Cochin's work was directed by the Marquis de Marigny, King Louis XV's director of the Bâtiments du Roi. Cochin was effectively Marigny's academic liaison. In 1750–1751, Cochin, with Jérôme-Charles Bellicard, accompanied Marigny on a visit to the excavations at

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

. In 1753, Cochin and Bellicard published their ''Observations upon the Antiquities of the Town of Herculaneum'', the first illustrated account of the discoveries there, which largely caused the frescoes of Herculaneum to be disregarded. Editions of the work in English were published in 1753, 1756, and 1758, and in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

in 1754, 1755 and 1757.''Art in Theory 1648–1815: An Anthology of Changing Ideas'' by Charles Harrison, Paul Wood, and Jason Gaige
p. 445 ''et seq.''
online at books.google.com (accessed 11 February 2008) Cochin was able to influence the artistic taste of France and was one of his country's primary leaders of taste during the eighteenth century. His years of greatest administrative influence were from 1752 to 1770.Charles Nicolas Cochin et l'art des Lumieres
book review by John Goodman in ''The Art Bulletin'' for June 1995, online at findarticles.com (accessed 11 February 2008) In 1755, he became Secretary (''secrétaire historiographe'') of the academy, a position he still held in 1771, and for one year he was director of the ''Société académique des Enfants d'Apollon''. He was a frequent guest at the dinners given by

Madame Geoffrin Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, and was said to speak brilliantly at them of painting and engraving. Cochin saw himself as an educator and was critical of the Rococo style, whose extravagance he publicly criticised in letters in the '' Mercure de France'' He argued for technical precision and for skill in the use of natural elements. In the 1750s he also attacked the early, extreme phase of Neo-classicism known as the '' Goût grec'', exemplified in the work of the architect Jean-François de Neufforge. King Louis XV rewarded Cochin's talents with a patent of nobility and membership of the Order of Saint Michael and granted him a pension. However, after the death of Louis XV in 1774, Cochin fell out of royal favour, and in his later years he lived in comparative poverty.

Works of art

More than fifteen hundred works by Cochin can be identified. They include historical subjects, book illustrations, and portraits in pencil and crayon. The richest collection of his engravings, apparently selected by himself, is in the Royal Library, now part of the Bibliothèque nationale. Cochin's own compositions are usually rich, gracious, and speak of a man full of erudition. A notable piece of work is his frontispiece to the 1764 edition of

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 ...

's '' Encyclopédie'', entitled ''Lycurgue blessé dans une sédition''. Of his historical work, the best known prints include ''The death of Hippolytus'', after François de Troy, and ''David playing the harp before Saul''. As well as his many drawings, he illustrated more than two hundred books and also designed paintings and sculptures. With Philippe Lebas, an early master of Cochin's, he engraved sixteen plates in the series ''Ports of France'', of which fifteen are after paintings by Vernet and one designed by himself. More than three hundred of his portraits are listed by Christian Michel in his monumental ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin et l'art des Lumières'' (1993).Michel, Christian, ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin et l'art des Lumières'' (École Française de Rome, 1993)

Legacy

In 1912, a typeface named Cochin, in honor of the artist, was designed by Georges Peignot. The style was inspired by Cochin's engravings, however, it is not a direct copy of those presented in the prints.

Publications

*Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Voyage d'Italie, ou recueil de notes sur les ouvrages de peinture et de sculpture qu'on voit dans les principales villes d'Italie'' (Paris, 1751, in 3 volumes) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas (with Bellicard, Jérôme-Charles), ''Observations upon the Antiquities of the Town of Herculaneum'' (London 1753, English edition, Paris 1754, French edition) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Recueil de quelques pièces concernant les arts, avec une dissertation sur l'effet de la lumière et des ombres relativement à la peinture'' (Paris, 1757, in 3 volumes) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Réflexions sur la critique des ouvrages exposés au Louvre'' (Paris, 1757) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Les Misotechnistes aux enfers, ou Examen critique des observations de N.D.L.G sur les arts'' (Amsterdam and Paris, 1763) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas (with Patte, Pierre, and Chaumont, chevalier de), ''Projet d'une salle de spectacle pour un théâtre de comédie'' (London and Paris, 1765, new edition Geneva, Minkoff, 1974) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Lettres sur les vies de M. Slodtz et de M. Deshays'' (Paris, 1765) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Lettre à une société d'amateurs prétendus'' (1769) *Under the pseudonym of Jérôme, ''Réponse à M. Raphaël'' (Paris, 1769) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Les Amours rivaux, ou l'homme du monde'' (Paris, 1774) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Lettres sur l'Opéra'' (Paris, 1781) *Cochin, Charles-Nicolas, ''Lettres à un jeune artiste peintre'' (undated) Cochin's published and unpublished texts, including over six hundred surviving letters, and the lectures he gave at meetings of the academy, are listed by Michel.

Bibliography

*Rocheblave, Samuel, ''Les Cochin'' (Paris, Librarie de l'Art, 1893), *Rocheblave, Samuel, ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin, graveur et dessinateur (1715–1790)'' (Paris and Brussels, G. Vanoest, 1927, 110 pp, 71 plates)Reviewed in ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', vol. 52, no. 301 (April 1928), p. 204 *Tavernier, Ludwig, ''Das Problem der Naturnachahmung in den kunstkritischen Schriften Charles Nicolas Cochins'' (Hildesheim, Zürich, New York, 1983) *Michel, Christian, ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin et le livre illustré au XVIIIe siècle: avec un catalogue raisonné des livres illustrés par Cochin 1735–1790'' (Geneva, 1987) *Michel, Christian (ed.), ''Le voyage d'Italie de Charles-Nicolas Cochin (1758)'' (Rome, École de France de Rome, 1991, 510 pp. incl. 57 illustrations) *Michel, Christian, ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin et l'art des Lumières'' (École Française de Rome, 1993, 727 pp. incl. 69 illustrations) *Foster, Carter E., ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger: The Philadelphia Portfolio'' in ''Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin'', vol. 90, no. 381 (Summer, 1994), pp. 1–28, Michel's ''Charles-Nicolas Cochin et l'art des Lumières'' (1993) was described in ''The Art Bulletin'' by a reviewer as "the most sophisticated study of any single figure of the 18th-century European art world known to me".

References

External links

Charles Nicolas Cochin the Younger (French, 1715–1790)
at artnet.com
Charles-Nicolas Cochin at Waddesdon Manor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochin, Charles-Nicolas Artists from Paris 1715 births 1790 deaths French engravers French antiquarians French art critics Portrait artists French male non-fiction writers Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)