Jean-Baptiste Descamps (; August 28, 1714 – June 30, 1791) was a French writer on art and artists, and painter of village scenes. He later founded an academy of art and his son later became a museum curator.

Biography

Descamps was born in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Pierre Dulin Pierre Dulin, or Pierre d’Ulin (17 September 1669 – 28 January 1748), was a French painter. Early years Pierre Dulin was born in Paris on 17 September 1669. After learning some principles of grammar and Latin, Dulin studied geometry and p ...

, Nicolas Lancret and

Nicolas de Largillierre Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

at 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 Paris.Jean Baptiste Descamps (I)
in the RKD Accompanying

Charles-André van Loo Carle or Charles-André van Loo (; 15 February 1705 – 15 July 1765) was a French painter, son of the painter Louis-Abraham van Loo, a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a su ...

on a trip to England in 1740–1741 after his training, he formed an acquaintance with

Pierre-Robert Le Cornier de Cideville Pierre Robert Le Cornier de Cideville (2 September 1693 – 5 March 1776), was a French magistrate and scholar, co-founder of the Academy of Rouen. Cideville, who was born at Rouen (Normandy), the descendant by his mother, of the poet Chapelle, ...

, the friend of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

. Le Cornier de Cideville, anxious for the honor of his native town of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, persuaded the young artist to select it as the place of his future residence. Once settled in 1741, Descamps set up a studio and helped his new friend found a tuition-free art school in 1749, the

Academy of Rouen An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. The school followed the basic ideas of the Philosophes of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

. This school was to play a key role in the development of pictorial art in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, and Descamps would direct this academy until he died. When Descamps wrote a memoir about this school for the French Academy, he was awarded a prize in 1767.Descamps, Jean-Baptiste
in the Dictionary of Art Historians Besides his son Jean Baptiste Marc Antoine Descamps, his pupils were Michel Duplessis,

Charles Eschard Charles Eschard (1748 - 1810) was a French painter, draftsman and engraver. Eschard began his art training at the Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen, Rouen Academy of Arts directed by Jean-Baptiste Descamps. He then went to s ...

, François Godefroy, François Gonord, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin,

Charles Louis François Le Carpentier Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

Noël Le Mire Noël Le Mire (20 November 1724, Rouen - 21 March 1801, Paris) was a French designer, engraver and etcher. Biography He was the eldest of thirteen children born to Noël Le Mire, a bargeman and timber merchant, and his wife Anne-Marguerite née ...

Jean Jacques Le Veau Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier (''male''; 6 June 1743 17 August 1824) was a well-known French painter of historical subjects who was active before, during and after the French Revolution. Life Lemonnier was born in Rouen on 6 June 1743. ...

, and

Jean Jacques Lequeu Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

Works

Descamps painted popular genre subjects in the manner of Jean-Baptiste Greuze. He became a member of the Académie Royale in Paris in 1764 and exhibited works at the

Salon of 1765 Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

. As a teacher, he began writing instructional works, most notably his French translations of artist biographies by Karel van Mander and

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...

in his 4-volume ''La Vie des Peintres Flamands, Allemands et Hollandois''. He hired

Charles Eisen Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen (17 August 1720 – 4 January 1778) was a French painter and engraver. Life The son and pupil of Frans Eisen, he was born at Valenciennes. In 1741 he went to Paris, and in the following year entered the studio of ...

to illustrate these works with engravings of the artists accompanied by examples of their work. Most of the portrait engravings are copies after Houbraken's originals.

''The Lives of Flemish, German, and Dutch painters''

Though the RKD records his artist membership in 1764, Descamps was already a literary member of the Académie Royale des Science when he published his ''La Vie...'' series of painter biographies in the 1750s and by the time he published his third volume in 1760, he was also a member of the Académie Impériale Franciscienne. * 1753: ''La Vie des Peintres Flamands, Allemands et Hollandois, avec des portraits gravés en Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des réflexions sur leurs différentes manieres'', M J.B. Descamps, Peintre, Membre l'Académie Royale des Science, Belle-Lettres, & Art de Rouen, & Professeur de l'Ecole du Dessein de la méme Ville, Tome Premier, A Paris, chez Charles-Antoine Jombert, Libraire du Roi pour l'Artillerie & le Génie, rue Dauphine, à l'Image de Notre-Dame, M D CC LIII, Avec Approbation et Privilege du Roi * 1754: ''La Vie des Peintres Flamands, Allemands et Hollandois, avec des portraits gravés en Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des réflexions sur leurs différentes manieres'', M J.B. Descamps, Peintre, Membre l'Académie Royale des Science, Belle-Lettres, & Art de Rouen, & Professeur de l'Ecole du Dessein de la méme Ville, Tome Second, A Paris, chez Charles-Antoine Jombert, Libraire du Roi pour l'Artillerie & le Génie, rue Dauphine, à l'Image de Notre-Dame, M D CC LIV, Avec Approbation et Privilege du Roi * 1760: ''La Vie des Peintres Flamands, Allemands et Hollandois, avec des portraits gravés en Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des réflexions sur leurs différentes manieres'', Par M J.B. Descamps, Peintre, Membre l'Académie Impériale Franciscienne, de celle des Sciences, Belle-Lettres, & Art de Rouen, & Professeur de l'Ecole du Dessein de la méme Ville, Tome Troisieme, A Paris, chez Desaint & Saillant, rue de S. Jean de Beauvais, Pissot, Quai de Conty, Durand, rue de Foin, M D C LX, Avec Approbation et Privilege du Roi * 1764: ''La Vie des Peintres Flamands, Allemands et Hollandois, avec des portraits gravés en Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des réflexions sur leurs différentes manieres'', Par M J.B. Descamps, Peintre, Membre l'Académie Impériale Franciscienne, de celle des Sciences, Belle-Lettres, & Art de Rouen, & Professeur de l'Ecole du Dessein de la méme Ville, Tome Quatrieme, A Paris, chez Desaint & Saillant, rue de S. Jean de Beauvais, Pissot, Quai de Conty, Durand, le Neveu, rue S. Jacques, au coin de la rue du Platre, M D CC LXIV, Avec Approbation et Privilege du Roi File:La vie des peintres flamands allemands et hollandois - Jean Baptiste Descamps.png, "La Vie", ''Tome Troisieme'', 1760 File:Hendrik van Steenwijk II.png, Hendrik van Steenwijk II, "Tome Premier", illustration by Charles Eisen File:Jean-Baptiste Descamps -Tome Second - Adam Pynaker p319.gif, Adam Pynaker, "Tome Second", illustration by Charles Eisen File:Jean Baptiste Descamps-Abraham Genoels p92.gif, Abraham Genoels, "Tome Troisième", illustration by Charles Eisen File:Jean-Baptiste Descamps - Anna Wasser Tome Quatrieme p 202.gif, Anna Wasser pupil of

Joseph Werner Joseph Werner (22 June 1637 – 21 September 1710), known as the Younger to distinguish him from his painter father of the same name, was a Swiss painter, known for miniatures. Joseph Werner the Younger became an artist of internatio ...

, "Tome Quatrieme", illustration by Charles Eisen

Churches of Flanders and Brabant

In 1769 he wrote the book ''Voyage pittoresque de la Flandre et du Brabant'', which describes the towns and principal churches of Flanders and Brabant with their artworks.Voyage Pittoresque
(text online in French) on Google books Through these works he renewed the interest in the Old Flemish masters, especially Hans Memling and

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

. They also had the adverse effect of being used by the French Revolutionary Army, after their invasion of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in 1790, to requisition the best paintings for transport to the ''Musée Central des Arts'' 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 ...

, Paris.

References

*''This article is partially based on the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

tex
Account Of A Tour In Normandy – Volume I
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Descamps, Jean-Baptiste 1714 births 1791 deaths People from Dunkirk Belgian writers in French Artist authors