François-Thomas Germain (1726–1791) was a French

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

who was often commissioned by European royalty. In addition to his work for the French court, François-Thomas Germain also received notable commissions from foreign courts, including a large order from Empress Elizabeth of Russia and significant commissions from the Portuguese court. He inherited the title of royal silversmith and

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 ...

to the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

from his father, Thomas Germain. In 1765, Germain broke guild regulations by working with financiers to receive some debts owed to him, as he was only allowed to enter into partnerships with his fellow smiths. For this he was forced to resign his position and declare bankruptcy. Germain died out of the public eye in 1791, the last member of his distinguished family to serve as a royal smith. Many of his works are now held in

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s and private collections. Curiously enough, due to the French Revolution and other hazards of history, the biggest portion of his production now belongs to countries other than France—namely

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

In popular culture

A fictionalized version of Germain appears in the 2014 video game ''

Assassin's Creed Unity ''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the eighth majo ...

'', as a member of the Templar Order and the main antagonist. He was chosen for the game because of his real-life talent and "unexplained demise."

References

External links

Some of the masterpieces in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon

Some of the masterpieces in the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, Lisbon

Museu Gulbenkian, Lisbon

Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New-York

Musée du Louvre, Paris

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon

One of the tureens in the Museu Gulbenkian, Lisbon

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland

Walters Art Museum, Maryland

nr.112, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
1726 births 1791 deaths Jacobins French silversmiths French decorative artists {{France-artist-stub