François Cacault (1742,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

– 10 October 1805, Clisson) was a French diplomat of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.

Life

François's father was a master artist in

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

, road engineer and designer of a 1775 map of Nantes which served as the basis for plans to embellish the town. François began his career by training at the Ecole militaire in Paris, where he was made professor of fortifications in 1764 and inspector of studies in 1766. He resigned in 1769 and, forced into exile following a duel, travelled around Europe and got to know its artistic and literary circles. In 1775 he became the secretary of marshal d'Aubeterre, governor of Brittany, following him to Italy in 1785. Also in 1785 he began his diplomatic career as secretary to Talleyrand, then ambassador to the court of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. In 1788 and 1791, he took on the duties of a chargé d'affaires but was recalled to France due to his meetings with anti-revolutionary

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

s. In 1793, he was sent out as France's ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

but was forced by the riots of that year to sell all the lands and goods of French foundations in Rome, forcing the closure of the Académie de France there and the repatriation of its French artists. However, also in 1793, he managed to detach

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

from the

First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it. They were only loosely allied ...

against France. In 1796 Cacault became French minister in Rome to oversee the implementation of the

Armistice of Bologna The Armistice of Bologna was a treaty signed between the Papal States and the French First Republic on 23 June 1796. It resulted in a ceasefire between the two parties that was intended to last until a permanent peace treaty could be signed (the 1 ...

. On 10 February 1797 he was the second French signatory of the

Treaty of Tolentino The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Directory's Ambassador to the H ...

, at Bonaparte's side as French chargé d'affaires in Italy.Treaty of Tolentin
at the Vatican Archive site
On 27 germinal year VI (16 April 1798), he was elected as député for Loire-Inférieure to the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

. After the

18 brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...

coup d'état, Cacault rallied to Napoleon and on 4 nivôse year VIII (25 December 1799) entered the

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History Under Napoleon's Consulate, the Constitution of the Year VIII (1799) set up ...

as député for Loire-Inférieure. He was then one of the negotiators for the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...

. From year IX (1802) to year XI (1804) he was minister plenipotentiary in Rome, before joining the

Sénat conservateur The (, "Conservative Senate") was an advisory body established in France during the French Consulate, Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonapa ...

on 6 germinal year XII (27 March 1804). A friend of letters and the arts, he translated many German works into French. During his stay in Italy he bought sculptures, more than a thousand paintings and over 5,000 prints, representative of Western European art from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 19th century. Conditions were highly favourable for this collection's formation, and Cacault was probably advised by the painter-collector

Jean-Baptiste Wicar Jean-Baptiste Wicar (22 January 1762 – 27 February 1834) was a French Neoclassical painter and art collector. Life The son of a carpenter, Wicar was born in Lille. He studied drawing at the free school in Lille before further honing his ta ...

. They were both present in the art market, notably with the "brocanteur" or market-dealer Corazetto in

piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' a ...

and amidst works seized from churches and convents by the French occupiers and the suppression between 1798 and 1802 of a ban on exporting works of art from the Papal States. François's younger brother

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

had stayed in

Clisson ''For other uses, see Clisson (disambiguation)'' Clisson (; Gallo: ''Cliczon'', ), is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, in the region of Pays de la Loire, western France. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Sèvre Nan ...

since 1796, and there they founded a museum that aimed to display François's collection, to contribute to the spread of good taste and beauty and to favour arts studies. This "museum-school" arose from a passion for art and witnesses to the political context which affirmed the will to make all works of art accessible, within an ideal of artistic education. The Cacault collection was bought in 1801 by the town of Nantes, forming the foundation of the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes The Fine Arts Museum of Nantes (French: Musée d'Arts de Nantes), along with 14 other provincial museums, was created, by consular decree on 14 Fructidor in year IX (31 August 1801). Today the museum is one of the largest museums in the region. ...

Notes

External links and sources

The life of François Cacault

Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cacault, Francois 1742 births 1805 deaths Diplomats from Nantes Ambassadors of France to the Kingdom of Naples Ambassadors of France to the Holy See French art collectors Translators to French Translators from German Members of the Sénat conservateur Members of the Corps législatif Members of the Council of Five Hundred 18th-century French diplomats 19th-century French diplomats