Joseph-Désiré Court (14 September 1797,

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 ...

– 23 January 1865,

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 ...

) was a French painter of historical subjects and

portraits 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 ...

Life and work

He was a descendant of the portrait painter,

Hyacinthe Rigaud Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the French nobility. Biography Rigaud ...

, and displayed an early interest in art. His first studies were with , at a drawing school established by Descamps' father,

Jean-Baptiste Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

. Following that, he worked at the studios of

Antoine-Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French R ...

in Paris. His allowance from his family was not quite enough for his needs, so he painted small pictures, which he sold through an agent. Despite this, he was unable to save enough money to continue his studies in Rome. Hoping that he could go at the expense of the state, he competed for 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 ...

and, in 1821, was awarded a prize for his depiction of

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

. During his stay there, he continued to send works back to Paris for exhibition. His painting, " The Death of Caesar", was acquired by the

Musée du Luxembourg The Musée du Luxembourg () is a museum at 19 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1750, it was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace (the matching west wing housed the Marie de' M ...

in 1827. In 1828, the Académie de Rouen named him a corresponding member, and commissioned a large painting for their new meeting room. Although their request was for an easel painting only, he produced a monumental canvas depicting the playwright

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 ...

, receiving honors from the nobility after the premiere of his tragedy, '' Cinna''. Court was presented with a gold medal in gratitude. Following the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

, the government of King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...

held a competition for a large canvas, to adorn the new room at the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. Three topics were offered. Court chose to paint

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

facing Dreux-Brézé at the

Estates General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...

. His sketch came in second. Dissatisfied with the jury's decision, he executed the painting anyway; exhibiting it at the

Salon 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 ...

in 1833. It may now be seen at the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen is an art museum in Rouen, in Normandy in north-western France. It was established by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1801, and is housed in a building designed by and built between 1877 and 1888. Its collections include ...

. He did eventually receive some major public commissions, including figures for the Hôtel de Ville (1841), and paintings for the dome of

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is ...

(1850). Much of his work was, however, devoted to portraiture. He had long wanted to return to his hometown so, in 1853, he accepted an appointment as Conservator at the Musée de Rouen; immediately beginning a project to renovate the museum's rooms. He succumbed to an unspecified chronic illness, while in Paris receiving treatment. His remains were taken home and interred at the

Rouen Monumental Cemetery The Rouen Monumental Cemetery (french: Cimetière monumental de Rouen) is the most important cemetery of the Norman city of Rouen, opened in 1828 and situated to the North-East of the town-centre. The entrance gate, the chapel and the monumental cr ...

. He had been the recipient of numerous honors, including the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1838.Documentation
@ the

Base Léonore ''Base Léonore'', or the Léonore database, is a French database that lists the records of the members of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. The database lists the records of those inducted into the Legion of Honor The National Ord ...

Gallery

File:Rigolette.jpg, ''Rigolette keeping herself busy while Germain is away''. 1842 File:Christian VIII og Caroline Amalie i salvingsdragt.jpg, King

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...

and Queen Amalie in Their Coronation Robes File:Guy-Victor Duperré - Court.jpg,

Guy-Victor Duperré Guy-Victor Duperré (20 February 1775 – 2 November 1846) was a French naval officer and Admiral of France. He is known for commanding French naval forces in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–11 and was victorious in the Battle of Grand Port ...

. 1832 File:Lar1 court 001z.jpg, ''The King gives the flags to the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

of Paris and the

Banlieu In France, the term banlieue (; ) refers to a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris Metropolitan Are ...

(29 August 1830)''. 1834 File:Court - Sylvain Charles Valée (1773-1846) - MV 1176.jpg,

Sylvain Charles Valée Sylvain-Charles, comte Valée (17 December 1773 – 16 August 1846), born in Brienne-le-Château, was a Marshal of France. Upon the outbreak of the French Revolution, Valée enlisted in the French revolutionary army and was sent to serve in ...

. 1838 File:Joseph Desire Court Une Jeune fille.jpg, ''Nymph and Faun bathing'', 1824 File:PeinturesMuséeFabre116 Court mort de César.jpg, The Death of Caesar, 1827 File:Жозев-Дезире Кур - портрет принца П.Г. Ольденбургского.jpg, Prince Peter of Oldenburg in the

Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The P ...

, 1842

References

External links

« Joseph-Désiré Court »
@ the Réunion des musées nationaux et du Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées.
« Joseph-Désiré Court »
@ the Base Joconde. {{DEFAULTSORT:Court, Joseph-Desire 1797 births 1865 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters French portrait painters Artists from Rouen Pupils of Antoine-Jean Gros 19th-century French male artists

Life and work

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links