François Girardon (; 17 March 1628 – 1 September 1715) was a French

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 ...

of the

Louis XIV style The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the official ...

or French Baroque, best known for his statues and busts of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and for his statuary in the gardens of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Biography

He was born at

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. His father was a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

worker. He was first trained as a joiner and woodcarver. His talent attracted the attention of the Chancellor of Louis XIV, Pierre Séguier, a serious patron of the arts, who arranged for him to work in the studio of François Anguier, and later, from 1648 to 1650 to live and apprentice in Rome. There he saw Baroque sculpture and met

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

, but he came to reject that style and moved instead toward

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 aesthe ...

and the models of ancient Roman sculpture. In 1650 he returned to France, and became a member of the group of artists, led by

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

, the official painter of the King, and including the garden designer

André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

, who were commissioned to decorate the new royal park of the Chateau of Versailles. His principal contribution was the group of statuary representing ''Apollo served by the Nymphs'', (1666-1675), symbolizing the Sun King himself, placed in a grotto close to the Palace. The figure of Apollo was inspired in form by the ''

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo'', ''Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is ...

'' of the Vatican, and featured two groups of figures; Apollo surrounded by

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, and a second group, next to the grotto, showing ''The Horses of the Sun'' being conducted to their royal stable. He created another fountain for Versailles, the ''Basin of Saturn'' or ''Winter'' (1672-1677), made of gilded lead, composed in a more baroque style, crowded with figures. His third major work at Versailles was the ''Kidnapping of Proserpine''. This group of statues was located away from the center of the garden, and was designed to be seen from a single point of view. The sense of movement and twisted figures give it a Baroque appearance, but this is balanced by the classical clarity and symmetry of the composition. Girardon rose steadily in the official artistic hierarchy. He became a member of the

Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture The Académie royale de peinture et de 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 abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution. I ...

in 1657, was raised to professor, in 1674 assistant to the Rector. In 1690, on the death of Le Brun, he became inspector general of works of sculpture, governing all royal sculptural commissions. In 1695, he became Chancellor of the Royal Academy. In 1675 he received another important commission, for the tomb of

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

, located in the Chapel of the Sorbonne. It was completed in 1694. The figure of the Cardinal is shown seated on the tomb but alive, sitting up and looking toward the altar. (The tomb was originally placed in the choir of the church, but has since been moved to a separate chapel). He is accompanied by figures of two grieving women representing Religion and science. The tomb was completed in 1694, and had considerable influence on the design of later funeral sculpture. It was nearly destroyed by a mob during the French Revolution, but was protected by the archeologist

Alexandre Lenoir Marie Alexandre Lenoir (; 27 December 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a French archaeologist. Self-taught, he devoted himself to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the French Revolution, notably those of Sain ...

, who received a bayonet wound in its defense. He had it moved to safety in the first museum of French monuments. In 1699, Girardon completed another major work, a bronze equestrian statue of Louis XIV, which was placed in the center in the center of Place Louis le Grand (now

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as the Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as the Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madelein ...

). This statue was melted down during the French Revolution and is now known only by a small bronze model made by Girardon himself, in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, He died in Paris in 1715. Other notable work of Girardon that can still be seen include Tomb of Louvois in the Church of (St-Eustache) in Paris; the tomb of Bignon, the King's librarian, made in 1656, in (St-Nicolas du Chardonnet); and decorative sculptures in the Gallery of Apollo and the King's Bedroom in the

. The municipal museum of his birthplace of

has several of his works, marble busts of Louis XIV and

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

. The Town Hall displays a medallion of Louis XIV, and the Church of Saint Remy displays a bronze crucifix he made.

Sculpture

File:Apollon et 5 nymphes, Bosquet des bains d'Apollon, Versailles (retouché et coupé).jpg, ''Apollo being served by the nymphs'', Grotto of the grove of the baths of Apollo, Palace of Versailles (1666-1675) File:François Girardon, Bassin de Saturne, Musée national des chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France (1672–1677) - 01.jpg, Basin of Saturn,

(1672-1677) File:2017 L'Hiver (Winter) by Girardon Château de Versailles P26.jpg, ''Winter'',

File:Girardon Rapto de Proserpina. 02.JPG, ''The kidnapping of Proserpina by Pluto'' (1677-1699),

File:Girardon Rapto de Proserpina. 03.JPG, Sculpture on the base of ''The Kidnapping of Proserpina by Pluto'' File:Louis XIV statue Girardon gravure.jpg, Monument to Louis XIV in the

(1692), destroyed 1789-92 File:Louis XIV statue equestre.JPG, François Girardon, model of statue of

for the

1692,

File:Simonneau Charles-Tombeau du cardinal de Richelieu.jpg, The tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, Chapel of the Sorbonne (1675-1694) File:Cardinal richelieu tomb statue sorbonne.jpg, Detail of the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, Chapel of the Sorbonne, (1675-1694) File:Troyes - Musée Saint-Loup - Buste de Louis XIV par François Girardon 1.jpg, Bust of Louis XIV, Musée Saint-Loup,

File:Bronze of Pluto Abducting Proserpine after François Girardon.jpg, Pluto Abducting Proserpine after François Girardon. Bronze. Circa 1700.

Notes and citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardon, Francois 1628 births 1715 deaths People from Troyes 17th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French sculptors 18th-century French male artists Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture French woodcarvers