Robert Jacques François Faust Lefèvre (, 24 September 1755, in Bayeux – 3 October 1830, in Paris) was a French painter of portraits, history paintings and religious paintings. He was heavily influenced by

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away fr ...

and his style is reminiscent of the antique.

Life

Robert Lefèvre made his first drawings on the papers of a procureur to whom his father had apprenticed him. With his parents' consent, he abandoned this apprenticeship and walked from Caen to Paris to become a student of Jean-Baptiste Regnault (in whose studio he met and became friends with Charles Paul Landon). At the 1791

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

he exhibited his ''Dame en velours noir'', the point of departure for his reputation. In 1805, Lefèvre painted the portrait of

Empress Joséphine Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 – 29 May 1814) was Empress of the French as the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810. ...

, and in 1807 a matching portrait of Napoléon was painted by Louis-André-Gabriel Bouchet. Napoléon gave both paintings to the city of Aachen in 1807, where they are today in the city hall and decorate the entrance hall. His other portraits of Napoleon,

Joséphine Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places * Josephine, Texas, United States * Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine C ...

, Madame Laetitia, Guérin,

Carle Vernet Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, better known as Carle Vernet (14 August 175827 November 1836), was a French painter, the youngest child of Claude Joseph Vernet and the father of Horace Vernet. Biography Vernet was born in Bordeaux. At the age o ...

(a portrait which is now at the

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 ...

) and

pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a ...

made him a fashionable portrait artist and one of the main portraitists of the

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

personalities, a reputation sealed by his portrait of Napoleon's new wife

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People * Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain * Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrav ...

. On the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

Robert Lefèvre painted a portrait of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

for the Chambre des Pairs and received the cross of 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 B ...

and the title of First Painter to the King, losing the latter on 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 ...

. He painted a large number of portraits and history paintings. The main example of his portraits are those of Malherbe (Bibliothèque publique de Caen),

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 L ...

, the duchesse d’Angoulême, the duchesse de Berry, Charles-Pierre-François Augereau duc de Castiglione (Musée de Versailles), and of

Dominique Vivant Denon Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. Denon was a diplomat for France under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louvre ...

. Two of his mythological paintings - ''Love sharpening his arrows'' and ''Love disarmed by Venus'' (t. 1,84 sur 1,30 ), were engraved by Desnoyers - the latter is reproduced in ''le Nu Ancien et Moderne''. His most notable history paintings are his ''Phocion getting ready to drink hemlock'', ''Roger delivering Angélique'', ''Héloïse and Abelard'' and a ''Crucifixion'' for the

Mont Valérien Mont may refer to: Places * Mont., an abbreviation for Montana, a U.S. state * Mont, Belgium (disambiguation), several places in Belgium * Mont, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune in France * Mont, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France * Mont, Sa ...

. His last painting was ''The Apotheosis of Saint Louis'' for the Cathedral of La Rochelle. While he was working on this last painting, the Revolution of July 1830 took place, an event which was to deprive him of his support and official posts. Ill, depressed and desperate, he committed suicide by cutting his throat at his house on the night of 2/3 October 1830; he was 75 years old. He was buried in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

, in Paris.

Gallery

File:L'Amour aiguisant ses flèches - Robert Lefèvre.jpg, ''Cupid sharpening his arrows'' (1798) File:Robert Lefèvre - Princess Pauline Borghese - WGA12631.jpg, ''Princess Pauline Borghese'' (1806) File:Lefèvre - Portrait de la duchesse de Berry.jpg, ''Portrait of the Duchess of Berry'' (1826) File:Maria Baryatinskaya by Robert Lefèvre.jpg, ''Maria Baryatinskaya'' (1819) File:M.F.Baryatinskaya with daugher Olga by R.Lefevre (1817, New Jerusalem).jpg, ''M.F. Baryatinskaya with daughter Olga'' (1817) File:Robert Lefevre 02.JPG, ''Portrait of Napoleon in Coronation Robes'' (1811)

References

* Gaston Lavalley, ''Le Peintre Robert Lefèvre, sa vie et son œuvre'', Caen, L. Jouan, .d. (c 1920). * ''Mémoires de la Société des sciences, arts et Belles-Lettres de Bayeux'', 1901, p. 121-2

Notes

External links

Robert Jacques Lefèvre
in Joconde. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Robert 1755 births 1830 deaths People from Bayeux 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Suicides by sharp instrument in France 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists