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Pierre Lepautre (4 March 1659 – 22 January 1744) was a French sculptor, a member of a prolific family of artists in many media, who were active in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was born and died in 
His completion of the over-lifesize group of ''Arria et Pœtus'' (finished 1695) after the design begun by
Lepautre sculptures in the Louvre
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepautre, Pierre 1659 births 1744 deaths 17th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French sculptors Artists from Paris Prix de Rome for sculpture 18th-century French male artists
Pierre Lepautre (4 March 1659 – 22 January 1744) was a French sculptor, a member of a prolific family of artists in many media, who were active in the 17th and 18th centuries. He was born and died 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 ...
.
He won 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 ...
, for study at the French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy.
History
The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...
, where he was a ''pensionnaire from 1683 to 1701. While in Rome he sent back to France a number of sculptures demonstrating his skill, among which were the ''Faune au chevreau'' of 1685, which went to ornament the gardens at Château de Marly. Lepautre returned to Paris in 1701. His ''Atalante'' (1704) was also destined for Marly.
From 1705 to 1710, he was occupied with decorative bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
s and sculptures for the royal chapel of Versailles The present chapel of the Palace of Versailles is the fifth in the history of the palace. These chapels evolved with the expansion of the ''château'' and formed the focal point of the daily life of the court during the Ancien Régime (Bluche, 1986 ...
, under the artistic supervision of Jules Hardouin-Mansart: his are the colossal statues of ''Saint Ambrose'' and ''Saint Gregory''.
A retable
A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...
in the form of a monumental gateway in the église de Saint-Eustache, Paris, illustrates the assumption of Saint Agnes.
His completion of the over-lifesize group of ''Arria et Pœtus'' (finished 1695) after the design begun by Jean-Baptiste Théodon
Jean-Baptiste Théodon (1645–1713) was a French sculptor.
Born at Vendrest (Seine-et-Marne), he formed his style working in the Manufacture royale des Gobelins organized by Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who saw to it that he was admitted to the newl ...
proceeded too slowly and ''Énée portant son père Anchise suivi d'Ascagne'' (signed and dated 1716), after François Girardon
François Girardon (10 March 1628 – 1 September 1715) was a French sculptor of the Louis XIV style or French Baroque, best known for his statues and busts of Louis XIV and for his statuary in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
Biograph ...
demonstrated his facility and fidelity as an executant. The sculpture of Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
carrying Anchises was begun in Rome, where Lepautre made numerous terracotta ''bozzetti
A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...
'' for it. The sculpture gained renown for Lepautre: bronze reductions of it were made for collectors. The 19th-century classicizing sculptor David d'Angers
Pierre-Jean David (12 March 1788 – 4 January 1856) was a French sculptor, medalist and active freemason.Initiated in ""Le Père de famille"" Lodge in Angers He adopted the name David d'Angers, following his entry into the studio of the painter ...
had one of Lepautre's designs for it, which was given by his widow to the museum in his native city.Henri Auguste Jouin,, ''Notice des peintures et sculptures du Musée d'Angers'' (Angers, 1870) "Annexe du Galerie David", no. 759, p. 238.
Pierre Lepautre preferred to become a member of the modest artists' Académie de Saint-Luc
The Académie de Saint-Luc was the guild of painters and sculptors set up in Paris in 1391, and dissolved in 1776.Alfred Fierro (1996). ''Histoire et Dictionnaire de Paris''. Paris: Robert Laffont.
It was set up by the Provost of Paris in 1391, a ...
, for which he held a lifetime post as Rector, rather than try for the more prestigious Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture.
Notes
References
Lepautre sculptures in the Louvre
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepautre, Pierre 1659 births 1744 deaths 17th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French sculptors Artists from Paris Prix de Rome for sculpture 18th-century French male artists