Jean Girardet (1709,

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lun ...

–28 September 1778, Nancy) was a French portrait and mural painter.

Biography

Before becoming a painter he was, successively, a seminarian, a law student, and a cavalry officer. After settling on art, he enrolled at the Nancy-Université, where he studied under the direction of

Claude Charles Claude Charles (6 January 1661, Nancy – 4 June 1747, Nancy) was a French historical and decorative painter. He also served as a Herald-at-Arms. Life and work He was the son of Jean Charles, an attorney for the local bailiwick and a notary. Hi ...

. He created several large decorative works before leaving in 1738, to join the entourage of the new Duke of Tuscany, Francis II, and travelled with him as far as

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where he completed his studies.Bouleau, Cécile, ''Éclats'',

Musée des beaux-arts de Nancy The Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy), one of the oldest museums in France, is housed in one of the pavilions on Place Stanislas, in the heart of the 18th-century urban ensemble, a World Heritage Site by U ...

, Somogy, 2005 He worked for Duchess Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans in Commercy, until her death in 1744. After another stay in Florence, he returned home in 1748, to enter the service of Stanisław Leszczyński, Duke of Lorraine and former

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

, as a

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

. His talent for portrait painting earned him the title of "Ordinary Painter to the King of Poland" in 1758. He would create portraits of all the nobility of Lorraine, including several of Leszczyński. He also excelled in large decorative and religious murals; working at several churches in Lunéville,

Chanteheux Chanteheux is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Geography Chanteheux is located in the north-east of Lunéville. The commune is crossed by the Vezouze. File:Map commune FR insee code 54116.png, Mapof the co ...

, Commercy,

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, as well as at

Toul Cathedral Toul Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul'') is a Roman Catholic church in Toul, Lorraine, France. It is a classic example of late Gothic architecture in the Flamboyant style. The cathedral has one of the biggest cloisters in France. Th ...

, where he created a mural dedicated to the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

. Many of his smaller works have since disappeared. He also provided decorations for the Nancy City Hall, which was built from 1752 to 1755. These include a large ceiling mural, depicting Leszczyński as Phoebus, the god of light. In the absence of a local art academy, he took students at his studio and workshops. Eventually, over 140 local artists would study with him. After the death of Leszczyński in 1766, he was taken into service by the Duke's only surviving daughter,

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; ; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Stanis ...

, the Queen of France. He remained 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 ...

for a short time after her death in 1768, then returned to Nancy, where he died, ten years later. He was interred at . His original tomb was adorned with a

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

and a portrait, created by . In 1792, it was destroyed by Federated troops passing through Nancy. In 1801 a group of local artists built a new memorial, with sculptures by .Gérard Voreaux, ''Girardet, un peintre lorrain à la Cour du roi Stanislas'', Abbeville, Éd. Place Stanislas (Paillart), 2007 A street has been named after him in Lunéville.

References

External links

"Une personnalité et sa rue : Jean Girardet"
In: ''L’Est Républicain'', 22 July 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardet, Jean 1709 births 1778 deaths 18th-century French painters French male painters French portrait painters People from Lunéville Nancy-Université alumni 18th-century French male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links