Clément Louis Marie Anne Belle (16 November 1722, Paris – 29 September 1806, Paris) was a French painter and tapestry designer.

Life and work

He was the son of

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 ...

, a well-known portrait painter and a Member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris and his wife, the painter and engraver Marie-Nicole Horthemels. Clément too showed a talent for art and was taught by his mother. In 1745 he went to Italy, where he spent 10 years studying the old masters and on his return to Paris was accepted into the Academy. In 1765 he was appointed Deputy Professor and then Professor. In 1785 he was appointed Deputy Rector and then Rector. In 1755 he was appointed head of the art section at 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 ...

, an historic tapestry producer in Paris. Although he held the post for 30 years it did not prevent him creating paintings of his own. At some point between 1791 and 1793, the three painters (Belle, Pierre Peyron and

Joseph-Laurent Malaine Joseph-Laurent Malaine (21 February 1745, in Tournai, Austrian Netherlands – 5 May 1809, in Paris) was a flower painter and created cartoons for tapestries as well as designs for wall-papers and textiles. Life His father was Régnier Joseph M ...

) who worked at the Gobelins were dismissed.https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k207171d/f469.item# He died in 1806. His son Augustin-Louis Belle succeeded him to his position at Gobelins.

Selected works

* ''Le Christ en Croix avec la Vierge et saint Jean'', 1762, oil on canvas, 292 x 195 cm,

Musée des beaux-arts de Dijon The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787 in Dijon, France. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was ...

, Dijon. * ''Le Retour de l'enfant prodigue'', musée Magnin, Dijon. * ''Minerve remet à Hercule le decret qui a aboli les vices de l'ancien gouvernement'', c.1790, oil on canvas, 36 x 39 cm, inventory no. INV 20297 A Louvre Museumbr>Joconde website
* , c.1790, oil on canvas, 26 x 23 cm, inventory no. INV 20296 A Louvre Museumbr>Joconde website
* ''La Convention nationale décrète l'abolition de la monarchie'' (entre 1788 et 1794), oil on canvas, Musée de la Révolution française,

Vizille Vizille (; frp, Veselye) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Sights Vizille is the home of the Musée de la Révolution française, a rich depository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French ...

*''La Convention nationale remet à la France le code des Lois républicaines'' (entre 1788 et 1794), oil on canvas, Musée de la Révolution française,

Selected paintings

Clément Belle - Vénus et Adonis - 1772.jpg , '' Venus and Adonis'', 1772 Clément Belle - Vertumne et Pomone - 1772.jpg, '' Vertumnus and

Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...

'', 1772 Clément Belle - La Convention Nationale décrète l'abolition de la monarchie 2.jpg, '' Minerva gives to Hercules the decree which abolished the vices of the former government'' Belle-Virtues.jpg, '' Faith, Hope and Charity''

References

* Pierre-Jean Mariette, Philippe de Chennevières et

Anatole de Montaiglon Anatole de Courde de Montaiglon (28 November 1824 – 1 September 1895) was a 19th-century French librarian and art historian. Biography In 1850, De Montaignon graduated as an archivist and palaeographer from the École des chartes, with a the ...

, ''Archives de l'art français. Recueil de documents inédits relatifs à l'histoire des arts en France'', Paris, J.-B. Dumoulin, 1856, . * Joseph-François Michaud et Louis-Gabriel Michaud, ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne'', Paris, Madame C. Desplaces, 1854, . * This article is based on the equivalent article on French Wikipedia

External links

Joconde website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle, Clément Louis Marie Anne 1722 births 1806 deaths Painters from Paris 18th-century French painters