Claude-André Deseine (12 April 1740 – 30 December 1823) was a French sculptor and the elder brother of

Louis-Pierre Deseine Louis-Pierre Deseine (1749–1822) was a French sculptor, who was born and died in Paris. He is known above all for his portrait busts and imaginary portraits. Life Deseine trained in several ateliers, notably with Augustin Pajou, whose port ...

Life

Deseine was the son of an artisan and his wife, and was one of many (perhaps more than fifteen) children. His father died in 1777 and a court ruled that Deseine, "being deaf and dumb from birth", could control his own income but had to have his possessions managed by guardians. In 1778, he was a student at the

Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

in Paris. Soon after, he started working professionally: in 1783 he sold busts of Madame Saint-Huberty,

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

and

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

, from his house in Paris. Deseine had been a former pupil of l'Abbe de l'Eppe, a priest who had opened the world's first free school for the deaf, and developed a form of sign language. In 1786 he presented the National Assembly with a bust of his former teacher. Deseine's work gained prominence during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. The art historian

Michael Levey Sir Michael Vincent Levey, LVO, FBA, FRSL (8 June 1927 – 28 December 2008) was a British art historian and was the director of the National Gallery from 1973 to 1986. Biography Levey was born in Wimbledon, London, and grew up in Leigh-on-S ...

has contrasted his Republican sensibilities, and the exaggerated character of his portrait studies, with the work of his royalist younger brother Louis-Pierre. Deseine was often at the Jacobin Club, where he obtained a prize for his 1791 bust of

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

and sold a number of busts of other deputies. He successfully petitioned the Assembly for the right to make a full-size statue of l'Eppe based upon his earlier bust, but never completed this work: as time went on, all priests soon became objects of suspicion to the revolutionary authorities. One of Deseine's more notorious commissions took place on the night of 17 February 1793. The sculptor was recruited by Georges Danton and brought to Sainte-Catherine cemetery, to the grave of Danton's recently deceased wife. The body of Antoinette Gabrielle Danton was excavated so that Deseine could make her

death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...

. This was then used to create an accurate commemorative bust. After the

fall of Robespierre The Coup d'état of 9 Thermidor or the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre refers to the series of events beginning with Maximilien Robespierre's address to the National Convention on 8 Thermidor Year II (26 July 1794), his arrest the next day, and ...

in 1794 many Jacobins, including Deseine, went underground. Little is known of his later years.

Partial List of Works

* Portrait bust of Madame Saint-Huberty (1783) * Portrait bust of

(1783) * Portrait bust of

(1783) * Portrait bust of a young girl with wreath of flowers (1784) * Portrait bust of l’Abbé de l’Épée (1786) * Portrait bust of Muhammad Osman Khan (1788) * Allegory of Liberty, with M. d'Orléans (1791) * Portrait bust of

(1791) * Portrait bust of Robespierre (1792) * Portrait bust of Antoinette Gabrielle Danton (1793) * Portrait bust of Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau (1793) * Portrait bust of Jean-Paul Marat (1793) * Portrait bust of

Mucius Scaevola The gens Mucia was an ancient and noble patrician house at ancient Rome. The gens is first mentioned at the earliest period of the Republic, but in later times the family was known primarily by its plebeian branches. Origin The first of the Mucii ...

(1793) File:Antoinette-Garbielle Charpentier--Claude-André Deseine IMG 2306.JPG, Bust of Antoinette Gabrielle Danton File:Robespierre IMG 2300.jpg, Bust of Robespierre (

Musée de la Révolution française The Musée de la Révolution française (Museum of the French Revolution) is a departmental museum in the French town of Vizille, south of Grenoble on the Route Napoléon. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the French Revolution. I ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deseine, Claude Andre 1740 births 1823 deaths 18th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French sculptors Deaf artists French deaf people 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists