Jean-François Legillon, originally Jan Frans (1 September 1739,

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

- 23 November 1797,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

painter who specialized in scenes with cattle. His name is sometimes written as Le Gillon.

Biography

He was educated at a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

school and showed an early aptitude for drawing. At the age of twelve, he was already taking lessons at the , directed by

Matthias de Visch Matthias de Visch or Matthijs de Visch (22 March 1701 in Reninge – 23 April 1765 in Bruges) was a Flemish painter of history paintings and portraits.Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

to attend the Académie des Sciences, Belles-lettres et Arts, which had been established by

Jean-Baptiste Descamps Jean-Baptiste Descamps (; 28 August 1714, Dunkerque – 30 June 1791, Rouen) was a French writer on art and artists, and painter of village scenes. He later founded an academy of art and his son later became a museum curator. Biography Descamps ...

in 1749. Within two years, he was earning awards at school exhibitions. While there, he also perfected his command of French. Illness interrupted his studies, but he resumed them in 1763 and was back in Bruges by 1766. He was there for only a year, however, before he left for France again; this time passing through Paris on his way to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, where he took further lessons. Drawing troops of goats that roamed the streets there gave him the idea to become an animal painter. From 1770 to 1772, he visited Rome, where he created numerous watercolors and pastels. He toured Italy from 1772 to 1774, then returned to Paris, where he held his first exhibition at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in 1775., ''Levens der konstschilders, konstenaers en konstenaerressen, zo in 't schilderen, beeldhouwen als ander konsten, dewelke van de stadt van Brugge gebooren zijn, oft aldaer hunne konsten beoefend hebben'' (c. 1795), Bruges, Stadsarchief, Archief Academie voor Schone Kunsten. He was back in Bruges by 1776 and took some students: , Jean Charles Verbrugge (1756-1831) and N. van de Steene, about whom nothing is known. It was during this period that he first began to paint in oils. In 1779, he became restless again and travelled through Switzerland until 1780. He settled permanently in Paris in 1782. By 1789, at the insistence of friends, he had prepared some works for reception into 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 ...

. After a brief but serious illness, he died in Paris in 1797, while the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

was at its height. An old friend from his time in Italy,

Joseph-Benoît Suvée Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism. Biography Suvée was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and bec ...

, arranged for all of his paintings, drawings and sketches to be sent to his family in Bruges.

References

External links

More works by Legillon
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Legillon, Jean-Francois 1739 births 1797 deaths 18th-century Flemish painters Belgian emigrants to France 18th-century French painters Painters from Bruges Animal painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links