Louis Lafitte Régulus retourne à Carthage

Louis Lafitte (November 15, 1770 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

– August 3, 1828 in Paris) was a French painter, designer, illustrator and muralist.

Biography

He was the son of a master barber. In 1778, his father offered refuge to the painter Simon Mathurin Lantara, who was in desperate financial straits and, during his stay, Lantara excited young Lafitte's interest in painting. He also convinced Lafitte's father that his son had a gift for drawing, so he was sent to study with the engraver Gilles Demarteau then, in 1786, with

Jean-Baptiste Regnault Jean-Baptiste Regnault (9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to I ...

.Brief biography
@ Napoleon.org. Later he was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. Ventôse commence le 20 ou 21 février

In 1791, he won

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 ...

for his painting of

Regulus Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Reg ...

returning to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...

and became the last painter sent to Rome during the reign of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. He was living at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

in 1793, when protests against French incursions into Italy forced him to flee the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

and seek refuge in

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

, where he briefly taught at the

Academy 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 philosop ...

. He returned to Paris in 1796 and was married later that year. Financial problems soon forced him to do decorative work and illustrations, including twelve allegories for the months in the French Republican Calendar. In 1800, he worked at the

Château de Malmaison The Château de Malmaison () is a French château situated near the left bank of the Seine, about west of the centre of Paris, in the commune of Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tui ...

in collaboration with the architect Charles Percier. His work there featured eight Pompeian style dancers for the dining room. In 1809, the

Sénat The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' ...

commissioned a monumental oil painting, depicting the establishment of the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...

, but he was unable to complete it successfully. From 1807 to 1808, he worked with architect

Jean Chalgrin Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – 21 January 1811) was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris. Biography His neoclassic orientation was established from his early studies with the prophet of neocla ...

, managing all the decorations for the Théâtre de l'Impératrice. The theater was gutted by fire in 1818, and his decorations survive only in written descriptions. The following year, he helped Chalgrin decorate a full-scale wood, stucco and canvas mockup of the proposed Arc de Triomphe. In 1811, he painted Romulus and Remus above the doors of the Sénat at the

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

for the baptism of Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte. Brutus Listening to the Ambassadors from the Tarquins LACMA M

From 1800 to 1814, he created designs for the Manufacture de Sèvres. Then, from 1814 to 1816, he collaborated with

Merry-Joseph Blondel Merry-Joseph Blondel (; 25 July 1781 – 12 June 1853) was a French history painter of the Neoclassical school. He was a winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1803. After the salon of 1824, he was bestowed with the rank of ''Knight'' in th ...

in creating a collection of wallpapers based on the theme of

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called '' The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between P ...

, from a story by Jean de La Fontaine. In 1816, taking advantage of a peaceful period, he visited London, where King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

commissioned him to create decorations for a celebration at

Carlton House Carlton House was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of King George IV. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St James's Park in the St James's district of London. The location of the house, no ...

. In 1820, he designed decorations to commemorate the birth of the Duc de Bordeaux. In 1823, he was named a Knight in the

Légion d'Honneur 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 ...

as a designer for the King's Cabinet.Dossier
@ the Base Léonore. Two years later, he created his last major works for the coronation of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

. He died after a brief illness and is buried in Père-Lachaise Cemetery. His remaining works were sold in an auction at his home.

References

External links

Works by Lafitte
@ the Base

Joconde Joconde is the central database created in 1975 and now available online, maintained by the French Ministry of Culture, for objects in the collections of the main French public and private museums listed as ''Musées de France'', according to ...

.
Works by Lafitte
@ the Agence Photographique of the

Réunion des Musées Nationaux The Réunion des Musées Nationaux (RMN) is a French cultural umbrella organisation, an établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial (EPIC), formed in 2011, through the merger of the Paris National Museums and the Grand Palais. It ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafitte, Louis 1770 births 1828 deaths French history painters French muralists Prix de Rome for painting French designers French illustrators French decorative artists Artists from Paris Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links