Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine ( pl, Jan Piotr Norblin; 15 July 1745 – 23 February 1830) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

- French painter,

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 ...

, engraver and

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

. Born in France, from 1774 to 1804 he resided in the

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

, where he obtained

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

. He is considered one of the most important painters of the

Enlightenment in Poland The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...

. He achieved great success in Poland. Given many commissions from some of the most notable families of the country, he stayed there for many years, not returning to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

until the early 19th century. His style showed the influence of

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

, and combined 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, ...

tradition of charming '' fêtes galantes'' and '' fêtes champêtres'' with a panorama of daily life and current political events, captured with journalistic accuracy. He created a gallery of portraits of representatives of all

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...

es in the last years of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

Life

Born in Misy-sur-Yonne in 1745, Norblin started his career in France, in the early 1760s (his first known works date to 1763). Later he became influenced by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

and Watteau. Around 1763 he trained in the studio of Parisian painter Jacques-Philippe Caresme and around 1765 he worked with

Francesco Casanova Francesco Giuseppe Casanova (1 June 1727, London – 8 July 1803, near Mödling) was an Italian painter who specialised in battle scenes. His older brother was Giacomo Casanova, the famous adventurer, and his younger brother was Giovanni Battis ...

. In 1765 he entered 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 ...

, and in 1770–71 he studied under

Louis-Michel van Loo Louis-Michel van Loo (2 March 1707, Toulon – 20 March 1771, Paris) was a French Painting, painter. Biography He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, and he won a prize at the ''Académie Royale de ...

and

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier ...

at the Ecole Royale des Elèves Protégés, all in Paris. Around 1771–74 he worked in Paris, London, and

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

. Around 1772 he met Polish Prince

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential List of Polish people, Polish szlachcic, aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts an ...

, with whom he traveled for two years and by whom he was invited to Poland. From 1774 he worked for the

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

family of

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dyna ...

and became their court artist and

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

for the children. Among his early works the most prominent are his illustrations to '' Myszeida'', a poem by

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet"Ignacy Krasic ...

. He worked in

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...

and at Powązki estates as painter and decorator of local Czartoryski's estates. Later he also worked for the Radziwiłł family in Arkadia ( Nieborów) and for King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

He settled in Warsaw and this move allowed him to witness and illustrate many important historical moments of the last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His hurriedly sketched drawings illustrated the passing of the Constitution of the 3 May and soon he became famous as the eye-witness and painter-chronicler of the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

, immortalising many of the most famous events of that event in his paintings: from the Warsaw Uprising in April and the consequent hanging of Targowica traitors in the

Old Market Square The Old Market Square (Slab Square) is an open, pedestrianised city square in Nottingham, England, forming the heart of the city, and covering an area of approximately , or about 3 acres. It is one of the largest paved squares in the United K ...

, through the battle of Racławice to

Massacre of Praga The Battle of Praga or the Second Battle of Warsaw of 1794 was a Russian assault on Praga, the easternmost suburb of Warsaw, during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. It was followed by a massacre (known as the Massacre of Praga) of the civilian ...

. After his return to France in 1804 he still continued to paint based on some of his Poland-era drafts, but he also illustrated other contemporary events, among them the times of the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's wars. He died in

in 1830. Norblin's students in Poland included

Aleksander Orłowski Aleksander Orłowski (9 March 1777 – 13 March 1832) was a Polish painter and sketch artist, and a pioneer of lithography in the Russian Empire. Life Orłowski was born in 1777 in Warsaw into an impoverished noble family, his father was a ta ...

, Michał Płoński and

Jan Rustem Jan Rustem ( hy, Յան Ռուստամ; 1762 – 21 June 1835) was a painter of Armenian ethnicity who lived and worked in the territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Primarily a portrait painter, he was commissioned to execute ...

. He assembled an interesting art collection, including works by

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

Hubert Robert Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...

and Rembrand. Jean-Pierre Norblin de La Gourdaine was the great-grandfather of an equally accomplished artist,

Stefan Norblin Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

(full name: Juliusz Stefan Norblin de la Gourdaine;

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, 29 June 1892 – 12 August 1952,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California). The paintings of Stefan Norblin, who worked in Poland,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

) and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, were rediscovered in the 1990s in India, where they decorate

maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

s' palaces, e.g., in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. One of many post war exhibition of his works took place at the Regional Museum in

Stalowa Wola Stalowa Wola () is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 58,545 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2021. It is located in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The city lies in historic Lesser Polan ...

, 3 September – 9 October 2011.Anna Szlązak, ''"Stefan Norblin – artysta wszechstronny"'' ("Stefan Norblin: Versatile Artist"), '' Gwiazda Polarna'' (The Pole Star, "Polish-American Biweekly"), vol. 102, no. 19 (10 September 2011), p. 15.

Notes

References

Biography at The Grove Dictionary of Art
last accessed on 10 April 2006

(at the bottom of the page) last accessed on 10 April 2006
Konrad Niemira, O dwóch obrazach z kolekcji Norblina, "Spotkania z zabytkami", 2022, no. 3-4, pp. 30-32

Konrad Niemira, Your money or your life, or why Jean-Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine left Paris, Quart, 2020, no. 2, pp. 102-116
*

last accessed on 10 April 2006

External links

Norblin's artwork at malarze.com

Norblin's artwork at info-poland.buffalo.edu

* ttp://norblin.com/ Jean Pierre Norblin de la Gourdaine – Norblin.com
Jean Pierre Norblin's etchings – www.norblinetchings.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norblin, Jan Piotr 1745 births 1830 deaths 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian painters 18th-century male artists 19th-century Polish painters French draughtsmen Polish draughtsmen Polish male painters 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links