Henri (de) Gissey (ca 1621 – 1673) was a French

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

and designer who held the post of ''dessinateur de la Chambre et du cabinet de Roi'' in the

Menus Plaisirs du Roi The Menus-Plaisirs du Roi () was, in the organisation of the French royal household under the Ancien Régime, the department of the Maison du Roi responsible for the "lesser pleasures of the King", which meant in practice that it was in charge of al ...

in the early years of

Louis XIV of France , 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 Versa ...

Jean Bérain the Elder Jean Berain the Elder (1640 – 24 January 1711) was a draughtsman and designer, painter and engraver of ornament, the artistic force in the Royal office of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi where all the designs originated for court spectacle, from fê ...

, who succeeded him in the post, is likely to have been in some sense his pupil. Gissey's appointment made him responsible for the expressions of court style, above all in the elaborately costumed and produced ''

ballets de cour ''Ballet de cour'' ("court ballet") is the name given to ballets performed in the 16th and 17th centuries at courts. The court ballet was a gathering of noblemen and women, as the cast and audience were largely supplied by the ruling class. The fe ...

'', in which the young king danced among his courtiers; following Colbert's remodelling of the royal household, the ''Cabinet du Roi'', to which Gissey was also attached, produced the sumptuous engraved festival books that often followed such events and are sometimes the only surviving record of them. His court position demanded in addition to designs for costumes, designs for other kinds of court ceremonial festivities, carried out under the general direction of

Louis Hesselin Louis Hesselin, Seigneur de Condé-sur-Suippe, Condé (February 1602 – 8 August 1662)Weil-Courier 2011. was a French aristocrat, government official, patron and collector. He held various positions in the Maison du Roi, royal household and becam ...

, "Overseer of the King's pleasures", the part of the royal household— the ''Maison du Roi''— in charge of entertainments. Hesselin was a grand collector, patron and amateur of art; for Hesselin's own lavish entertainments for the king, Gissey's office produced the costumes and sets. Several of his pen-and-wash designs for ''ballets de cour'' are at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. There are several designs for costumes for Louis XIV as Apollo, a role he repeated in numerous court ballets: several are at the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France. They are reminders of the extent to which the "Sun King" would identify himself as Apollo through consistent iconography at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

and in the sculptural program of its gardens and fountains. Gissey seems to have worked as an engraver as well as a designer.Alexandre Pierre F. Robert-Dumesnil ''Le peintre-graveur français, ou Catalogue raisonné des estampes gravées par les peintres'' vol. 11, supplement (Paris) 1871 p. 108, notes two engravings by him, a ''Notre-Dame de Passay'' and a ''Crucifixion'' sold from the collection of M. R

bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

D mesnil Paris 11 March 1856.

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External links

artnet.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gissey, Henri de French designers 1621 births 1673 deaths French draughtsmen

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