Guillaume Thomas Taraval (21 December 1701 – April 1750) was a French born, Swedish painter.

Biography

Guillaume Thomas Raphaël Taraval was born in France, the son of François Taraval and Chatherine Masson. He became orphaned early in life and was raised by his foster-father Henry Guillemard (1665-1728) who also gave him the first lessons in painting and drawing. He continued his education with the artist Claude Audran (1658–1734). Together with other French artists, Taraval arrived in Stockholm in 1732. Taraval was mainly active in the

Stockholm Palace Stockholm Palace or the Royal Palace ( sv, Stockholms slott or ) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch (King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia use Drottningholm Palace as their usual residence). Stockholm Palac ...

. He produced a series of elegant ceiling paintings and introduced the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

decorative style to Sweden. He also painted portraits, altarpieces and still lives, and prepared sketches for a chandelier in the chapel, which was then completed by his disciple

Johan Pasch Johan Pasch (12 March 1706, Stockholm - 16 January 1769, Stockholm) was a Swedish painter, etcher and decorative artist. He is sometimes referred to as The Elder to distinguish him from another, minor, painter named Johan Pasch (1752-1811), who ...

. He also played a major part in the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

, becoming its first director on its foundation in 1735. In 1739, he was granted leave to travel to Paris to study the new latest developments in French art, returning to Sweden in 1740. He died during 1750 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Personal life

In 1727 married his foster-father's daughter Marie-Anne François Guillemard (b. ca 1705). He had two sons, the French painter Hugues Taraval (1729-1785) and the French architect and engraver Louis Gustave Taraval (1738-1794). The latter's son, Jean-Gustave Taraval (1765-1784) was also a French painter. Lee, Simon (1996) "Taraval"

References

Sources

* Lee, Simon (1996). "Taraval", vol. 30, p. 343, in ''

The Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

'' (34 volumes), edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove. Also a
Oxford Art Online
* Carl G. Laurin, ''Konsthistoria'', Stockholm, 1919

External links

Guillaume Thomas Taraval - Artworks
1701 births 1750 deaths French emigrants to Sweden Swedish people of French descent 18th-century Swedish painters 18th-century Swedish male artists Swedish male painters 18th-century French painters French male painters 18th-century French male artists {{France-painter-18thC-stub