Jean-Joseph Taillasson (; 6 July 1745 – 11 November 1809) was a French

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

and

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

, draftsman, and art critic.

Biography

Taillasson was born at

Blaye Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordeau ...

, near

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. His poem "Le Danger des règles dans les Arts" was noted with approval by the Danish visitor to Paris, Tønnes Christian Bruun-Neergaard, and an elegy "Sur la Nuit", he thought, seemed fit to soften the least sensitive heart. He matured his talent in the Paris ateliers of

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 ...

(from 1764) and

Nicolas Bernard Lépicié Nicolas Bernard Lépicié (16 June 1735 – 15 September 1784) was an 18th-century French painter and teacher of painting, the son of two well-known engravers at the time, François-Bernard Lépicié and Renée-Élisabeth Marlié. Lépicié was ...

and, having won third place in the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

competition, 1769, spent four years, 1773–77, in Italy. At his return to Paris he set an early example of

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

. His ''Observations sur quelques grands peintres'' offered anti-academic advice somewhat at variance with his own manner; some of the collected observations had previously appeared in the ''Journal des Arts''. He died in

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 ...

Selected works

* ''Self Portrait'',

Musée du 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 ...

* ''Jeune Homme, vêtu d'une robe, levant les bras'',

* ''La Nymphe surprise'',

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures represe ...

, Toulouse * ''Timoléon à qui les Syracusiens amènent des étrangers'', Musée Ingres, Montauban; another version is at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tours. * ''Un Vieillard, assis, lisant'', Musée du Louvre * ''Vieillard drapé, debout, vu de dos'', Musée du Louvre. * ''Claude-Louis, comte de Saint-Germain (1707-1778)'', 1777 Musée national de Versailles * ''La Naissance de Louis XIII'', 1782 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Pau * ''La Madeleine au désert'', 1784

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

* ''Ulysse et Néoptolème enlevant à Philoctète les flèches d'Hercule'', 1784 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux; this was his ''morceau de reception'' 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 ...

. * ''Sabinus et Eponina découverts par les soldats de Vespasien'' 1787''Cyclopedia'' * ''Virgil reading the 'Aeneid' to Augustus and Octavia'', 1787 (

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 ...

, London) * ''Léandre et Héro'', 1789 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux * ''"Seigneur! Voyez ces yeux"'' (Cleopatra of Syria is discovered by Rodogune to have poisoned the nuptial cup, a scene from

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

's ''

Rodogune ''Rodogune'' is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatis ...

'' (1644), 1791

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

; Tønnes Christian Bruun-Neergaard considered that it had established the painter's reputation, and remarked that it had belonged to ''Citoyen'' Godefroy, a well-known amateur, who auction dsaletranspired in 1794.Bruun-Neergaard 1802:141. * ''Pauline, femme de Sénèque, rappelée à la vie'', 1791 Musée du Louvre * ''Olympias'', 1799 * ''Andromache'', 1800 * ''Rhadamate et Zénobie'', 1806 * ''Spring (or Flora) leading Cupid back to Nature'' (

Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Beno ...

, County Durham, UK)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taillasson, Jean-Joseph 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters French draughtsmen 1745 births 1809 deaths 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists