Simon Guillain, called Gigantibus or de Gigante (

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 ...

, 1581 - Paris, 1658), was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Charlotte-Catherine_de_La_Tremoille_LP_400

He approached

sculpting Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

thanks to the teachings of his father Nicolas, perfecting later at the Academy of court. His stay in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

at the beginning of the seventeenth century reinforced his interest in art, which Guillain expressed in works of great importance, such as the two statues of Saint Gervasius and Protasius for the church of Saint Gervais in Paris, some marble statues for the church of the Sorbonne, the Mausoleum of Charlotte Catherine, widow of the prince of Condé in the convent of the Daughters of the Ave Maria. During his stay in Rome, Guillin made a copy of the Arts by way of Bologna: eighty etchings from drawings by

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

, as well as a frontispiece adorned with a portrait of Annibale Carracci. The frontispiece of the work is as follows: ''Diverse Figure, al numero di ottanta, disegnato di penna, nell'hore di ricreazione di Annibale Carracci, intagliate in rame, e cavate dai originali da Simone Guilino Parigino. Dedicate a tutti i Virtuosi ed intendenti della professione della pittura e del disegno, A Roma nella stamparia di Lodovico Grignani, MDCXLVI, Con licenza di superiori, In foglio''. But his name has entered the history of sculpture above all for the colossal Monument to the glory of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

and his family, completed in 1648, coinciding with the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peac ...

, and placed at the entrance to the

Pont-au-Change The Pont au Change is a bridge over the Seine River in Paris, France. The bridge is located at the border between the 1st arrondissement of Paris, first and 4th arrondissement of Paris, fourth arrondissements. It connects the Île de la Cité fro ...

on the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. The work consisted of a double architectural order and was decorated with

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

, trophies, animal and human figures as a corollary to the main bronze statues of Louis XIII of France, Queen Anne of Austria, and

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

as an infant. Guillain drew characters that he admired. Every detail of his works was imbued with

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

, without detracting from the personal and genuine characterization of some specific aspects, such as the faces. He was a renewer of the French Renaissance. He was elected captain of his district and in 1651 was one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris.

References

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/span> 1658 deaths 1581 births 17th-century French people French sculptors