Charles Monnet, also known as Charles Monet (10 January 1732 – after 1808), was a French painter and illustrator, best known for his illustrations used in books, including illustrations of the French Revolution.

Life

Born in Paris, he studied under

Jean II Restout Jean II Restout (26 March 1692 – 1 January 1768) was a French painter, whose late baroque classicism rendered his altarpieces, such as the ''Death of Saint Scholastica'' an "isolated achievement" that ran counter to his rococo contemporaries.M ...

. Although he never became a full academian, on July 27, 1765 he was made a provisional member of the

Académie Royale An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, where he won first prize for the painting, ''Nabucliodonosor faisant crever les yeux à Sédicias et faisant massacrer ses enfants''. His works in the mid 1760s and 1770s included portraits and religious and mythical scenes. He became "one of the best vignettists of his time" and well-known for his work as an illustrator, notably for an edition of ''Fables de La Fontaine'' published by Fessard. He completed two large compositions above the doors of the dining room in the Petit Trianon at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

, ''Boreas and Orithyia'' and ''Zéphir and Flore'', completed in 1768. His illustrations have been used for porcelain vases. Painted in polychrome enamels by highly skilled artisans using a method of garniture, several were purchased for Versailles by King Louis XVI in 1781. Monnet made fifteen illustrations of the French Revolution, named ''Main Days of the Revolution'', which were engraved by Isidore-Stanislas Helman and published in a volume in 1798. The illustrations were also turned into etchings by Antoinne-Jean Duclos and Jean Duplessis-Bertaux. Engravings were made of 153 of his illustrations for ''Abrege de l’Histoire universelle en figures, dessinees et gravees par les meilleurs artistes de la capitale'', which was published in 1790. He also illustrated scenes from the history of the First French Empire and (with Jean-Michel Moreau, Clément-Pierre Marillier and Pietro Antonio Martini); Voltaire's ''Romans et contes'' of 1778; and Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's '' Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' in its 1796 London edition. He exhibited regularly at the Salon and ended his career as a drawing professor at the military

École de Saint-Cyr École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. He died in Paris, where he was living in 1808. His works are in the collections of the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bibliothèque Nationale, and Château de Malmaison.

Gallery

File:Monnet Telemachus and Mentor.jpg, ''Monnet Telemachus and Mentor'', 1774 File:Prince de Lambesc.jpg, ''Charles Eugéne, Prince de Lambesc in parade attire of Grand Écuyer de France'', 1790 File:1802_Toussaint_Louverture_re%C3%A7oit_une_lettre_de_Napol%C3%A9on.jpg, ''Toussaint Louverture Receiving a Letter from the First Consul'', black ink and wash, 1802, Château de Malmaison. It is one of his 69 drawings illustrating the ''History of France under the Empire of Napoleon the Great.''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monnet, Charles 1732 births 1800s deaths 18th-century French painters French illustrators Painters from Paris 19th-century French painters