Gabriel Revel (10 May 1643 - 9 July 1712) was a French painter. Girardon par Revel

Life

He was born in

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition att ...

, in a family of artists. He went to Paris, probably on the advice of

Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

. He joined the group of decorative artists working for

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 ...

, including François Verdier, Claude II Audran et François Bonnemer, on the '' Soleil Royal''. It is thought that he worked with

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 ...

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 ...

. Probably after a voyage to Italy, Revel was accepted into the Académie Royale on 31 January 1682 on the basis of his portraits of

François Girardon François Girardon (10 March 1628 – 1 September 1715) was a French sculptor of the Louis XIV style or French Baroque, best known for his statues and busts of Louis XIV and for his statuary in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. Biography ...

and Michel Anguier. For the city of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

in 1688 he painted the ceiling of the Chambre des requêtes in the Parlement de Bourgogne, with an ''Allegory of Justice''. Moving to Dijon in 1692 he produced a large number of historical paintings and portraits. He died at Dijon.

Accreditation

One of Revel's paintings, now titled ''Portrait of an Astronomer'' (circa 1670), was thought to be a portrait of philosopher

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

Pierre Mignard Pierre Mignard or Pierre Mignard I (17 November 1612 – 30 May 1695), called "Mignard le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter known for his religious and mythological scenes and portraits. He was a ...

and was gifted to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

by Lady Carlisle in 1913.

References

People from Château-Thierry 1643 births 1712 deaths 17th-century French painters French male painters 18th-century French painters 18th-century French male artists {{France-painter-17thC-stub