Nicolas-André Monsiau
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Nicolas-André Monsiau (1754 – 31 May 1837) was a French
history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
and a refined draughtsman who turned to book illustration to supplement his income when the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
disrupted patronage. His '' Poussiniste'' drawing style and coloring marked his conservative art in the age of
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
.


Background

His training at the school of the
Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abol ...
, Paris, was under the direction of Jean-François Pierre Peyron. An early patron, the marquis de Corberon, paid for a sojourn at Rome, where he studied 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 1 ...
from 1776. On his return to Paris, he was unable to exhibit in the annual Paris salons, which were closed to all but those who had been received (''"agréé"'') by the Académie or were members, under the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
. Instead he found an outlet in the smaller ''Salon de la corréspondance'', where in 1782 he showed a
tenebrist Tenebrism, from Italian ' ("dark, gloomy, mysterious"), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes ...
''Piquant effect of the light of a lamp.'' Two years later he was received at the Académie with a historical subject, ''Alexander taming Bucephalus'' and was made a member 3 October 1787, his second attempt, on the strength of ''The Death of
Agis Agis or AGIS may refer to: People * Agis I (died 900 BC), Spartan king * Agis II (died 401 BC), Spartan king * Agis III (died 331 BC), Spartan king * Agis IV (265–241 BC), Spartan king * Agis (Paeonian) (died 358 BC), King of the Paeonians * Ag ...
.'' The influence of
Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
, an acquaintance from Monsiau's days in Rome, is most vividly represented by Monsiau's ''Ulysses, after returning to his palace and slaying Penelope's suitors, orders the women to remove the corpses'' (1791 Salon), where the action is played out in a shallow frieze-like space defined by a colonnade parallel to the picture plane. In his best-known painting, ''Zeuxis choosing among the most beautiful girls of Crotona'', shown at the Salon of 1791,Conserved in the
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Beve ...
, Toronto.
Monsiau illustrates an anecdote of the painter Zeuxis, recorded in Pliny's ''Natural History'', that exemplifies an essential aspect of the Classical approach to artistic creation, in the artist's refining an ideal Art by selecting from among the lesser beauties of Nature. Monsiau's great public commission was a commemoration of the occasion on 26 January 1802, at which Napoleon delivered an authoritarian constitution to 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 organized t ...
at a convocation of notables (the ''consulta'') at Lyon.
François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...
had turned down the commission, preferring to continue his series of individual portraits of the Bonapartes. Monsiau received the commission in 1806; the finished painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1808 and was installed at the
Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
the following year. Monsiau was among the first history painters to depict scenes from modern history that were not commemorations of battles. He showed ''
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
reading
Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...
at the house of
Ninon de Lenclos Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos, also spelled Ninon de Lenclos and Ninon de Lanclos (10 November 1620 – 17 October 1705), was a French author, courtesan and patron of the arts. Early life Born Anne de l'Enclos in Paris on 10 November 1620,Sources als ...
'' at the Salon of 1802. It was engraved by
Jean-Louis Anselin Jean-Louis Anselin (26 May 1754 – 15 March 1823) was a French engraver. Amongst his best work is an engraved portrait of Madame Pompadour as "''La Belle Jardinière''" (pictured).Portalis, Roger & Béraldi, Henri. Les graveurs du dix-huitième ...
. His painting of Louis XVI giving instructions to the sea captain-explorer La Pérouse before his attempted circumnavigation was exhibited at the Salon of 1817 and was purchased for the recently restored
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 ...
. His portrayal of a sensational episode in which an escaped lion from the Grand Ducal menagerie in Florence had dropped a child it had picked up, without harming it, was exhibited at the Salon of 1801 and is conserved in 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 ...
. Among his pupils was the portrait draughtsman Louis Letronne (1790–1842), whose pencil portrait of
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
is iconic.


References


Sources

*Benezit, ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs''.


External links


Nicolas-André Monsiau
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monsiau, Nicolas-Andre 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters 1754 births 1837 deaths 19th-century painters of historical subjects French draughtsmen 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists