François Girardon (10 March 1628 – 1 September 1715) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the

Louis XIV style The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...

French Baroque 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 France ...

, best known for his statues and busts of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and for his statuary in the gardens of 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 ...

Biography

He was born at

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

. His father was a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

worker. He was first trained as a joiner and woodcarver. His talent attracted the attention of the Chancellor of Louis XIV,

Pierre Séguier Pierre Séguier (; 28 May 1588 – 28 January 1672) was a French statesman, chancellor of France from 1635. Biography Early years Séguier was born in Paris to a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre Séguier (15 ...

, a serious patron of the arts, who arranged for him to work in the studio of

François Anguier François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, and later, from 1648 to 1650 to live and apprentice in Rome. There he saw Baroque sculpture and met Bernini, but he came to reject that style and moved instead toward

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

and the models of ancient Roman sculpture. In 1650 he returned to France, and became a member of the group of artists, led by

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...

, the official painter of the King, and including the garden designer

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gar ...

, who were commissioned to decorate the new royal park of the Chateau of Versailles. His principal contribution was the group of statuary representing ''Apollo served by the Nymphs'', (1666-1675), symbolizing the Sun King himself, placed in a grotto close to the Palace. The figure of Apollo was inspired in form by the ''

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo, Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from Classical Antiquity. The ''Apollo'' is now thought to be an original Roman creation of Hadrianic ...

'' of the Vatican, and featured two groups of figures; Apollo surrounded by

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

, and a second group, next to the grotto, showing ''The Horses of the Sun'' being conducted to their royal stable. He created another fountain for Versailles, the ''Basin of Saturn'' or ''Winter'' (1672-1677), made of gilded lead, composed in a more baroque style, crowded with figures. His third major work at Versailles was the ''Kidnapping of Proserpine''. This group of statues was located away from the center of the garden, and was designed to seen from a single point of view. The sense of movement and twisted figures give it a Baroque appearance, but this is balanced by the classical clarity and symmetry of the composition. Girardon rose steadily in the official artistic hierarchy. He became a member of the

Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abol ...

in 1657, was raised to professor, in 1674 assistant to the Rector. In 1690, on the death of Le Brun, he became inspector general of works of sculpture, governing all royal sculptural commissions. In 1695, he became Chancellor of the Royal Academy. In 1675 he received another important commission, for the tomb of

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, located in the Chapel of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. It was completed in 1694. The figure of the Cardinal is shown seated on the tomb but alive, sitting up and looking toward the altar. (The tomb was originally placed in the choir of the church, but has since been moved to a separate chapel). He is accompanied by figures of two grieving women representing Religion and science. The tomb was completed in 1694, and had considerable influence on the design of later funeral sculpture. It was nearly destroyed by a mob 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, but was protected by the archeologist

Alexandre Lenoir Marie Alexandre Lenoir (27 December 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a French archaeologist. Self-taught, he devoted himself to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the French Revolution, notably those of Basiliqu ...

, who received a bayonet wound in its defense. He had it moved to safety in the first museum of French monuments. In 1699, Girardon completed another major work, a bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which was placed in the center in the center of Place Louis le Grand (now

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is ...

). This statue was melted down during the

and is now known only by a small bronze model made by Girardon himself, in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, He died in Paris in 1715. Other notable work of Girardon that can still be seen include Tomb of Louvois in the Church of (St-Eustache) in Paris; the tomb of Bignon, the King's librarian, made in 1656, in (St-Nicolas du Chardonnet); and decorative sculptures in the Gallery of Apollo and the King's Bedroom in the

. The municipal museum of his birthplace of

has several of his works, marble busts of Louis XIV and

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

. The Town Hall displays a medallion of Louis XIV, and the Church of Saint Remy displays a bronze crucifix he made.

Sculpture

Apollon et 5 nymphes, Bosquet des bains d'Apollon, Versailles (retouché et coupé).jpg, ''Apollo being served by the nymphs'', Grotto of the grove of the baths of Apollo, Palace of Versailles (1666-1675) File:François Girardon, Bassin de Saturne, Musée national des chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France (1672–1677) - 01.jpg, Basin of Saturn,

(1672-1677) File:2017 L'Hiver (Winter) by Girardon Château de Versailles P26.jpg, ''Winter'',

Girardon Rapto de Proserpina. 02.JPG, ''The kidnapping of Proserpina by Pluto'' (1677-1699),

Girardon Rapto de Proserpina. 03.JPG, Sculpture on the base of ''The Kidnapping of Proserpina by Pluto'' File:Louis XIV statue Girardon gravure.jpg, Monument to Louis XIV in the

(1692), destroyed 1789-92 Louis XIV statue equestre.JPG, François Girardon, model of statue of

for the

1692,

Simonneau Charles-Tombeau du cardinal de Richelieu.jpg, The tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, Chapel of the Sorbonne (1675-1694) Cardinal richelieu tomb statue sorbonne.jpg, Detail of the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, Chapel of the

, (1675-1694) Troyes - Musée Saint-Loup - Buste de Louis XIV par François Girardon 1.jpg, Bust of Louis XIV, Musée Saint-Loup,

Notes and citations

Bibliography

* Geese, Uwe, Section on Baroque sculpture in ''L'Art Baroque - Architecture - Sculpture - Peinture'' (French translation from German), H.F. Ulmann, Cologne, 2015. () *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardon, Francois 1628 births 1715 deaths People from Troyes 17th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French sculptors 18th-century French male artists