Jean-François Sablet (23 November 1745 – 24 February 1819) was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

; part of a family of artists of

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

origin.

Biography

Jean-François Sablet was born in

Morges Morges (; , Plurale tantum, plural, probably Ablative (Latin), ablative, else dative; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud and the seat of the Morges District, distri ...

. He studied with his father, the painter and picture dealer Jacob Sablet (1720–1798), before moving to

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 ...

in 1772. There, he and his younger brother Jacques-Henri Sablet (1749–1803) both studied at 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 ...

as pupils of

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier. P ...

. Jean-François studied at the Académie in 1768–1773 and Jacques-Henri in 1772–1775. Although their careers did not follow a similar course, the attribution of their works has frequently been confused.Web Gallery of Art, Biography Jean-François Sablet (b. 1745, Morges, Vaud, d. 1819, Nantes).
/ref> Among Jean-François Sablet's early portraits are those of ''Charles de Bourbon'', ''Comte d'Artois'', as Colonel General of the Swiss and ''Grison Guards'' (1774; ex-Bourbon-Chalus Collection,

) and ''Charles-Henri'', Comte d'Estaing (untraced). He also painted genre scenes, such as ''Childhood in the Country'' and ''Visit to the Wet-nurse'' (both untraced), and mythological scenes (e.g.

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

). In 1791 Jean-François left Paris for

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to join his brother Jacques-Henri. While there he concentrated on landscapes, also depicting people in local costume. In February 1793 Jean-François Sablet was obliged to leave Rome with the rest of the French community and by October was in Paris as a member of the ''Revolutionary Commune des Arts''. He produced a number of Revolutionary portraits, including ''Joseph-Agricol Viala'', ''William Tell'' and ''Lycurgus'' (all untraced), but spent most of his time quietly in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. In 1802 he worked in Paris for the printmakers

Francesco Piranesi Francesco Piranesi (; 1758/59 – 23 January 1810) was an Italian engraver, etcher and architect. He was the son of the more famous Giovanni Battista Piranesi and continued his series of engravings representing monuments and ancient temples. ...

(1758-1810) and his brother Pietro Piranesi (1773-after 1807), the sons of

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...

. In 1805 he established himself in

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 ...

, producing small-scale portraits of the city's notables with sometimes scathing sincerity. In 1812 he decorated the ''Le Palais de la Bourse'' in Nantes, with six large grisailles depicting the ''Visit of Napoleon to Nantes in 1808'' (untraced). He died in Nantes in 1819.

References

Sources

Web Gallery of Art, Biography Jean-François Sablets (b. 1745, Morges, Vaud, d. 1819, Nantes).

Larousse, "Dictionnaire de la peinture", Sablet.

Artnet, Jean-François Sablet.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sablet, Jean-Francois 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists Swiss male painters 19th-century Swiss painters 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters People from Morges 1745 births 1819 deaths Campagna Romana 19th-century French male artists 19th-century Swiss male artists 18th-century French male artists Swiss emigrants to France