Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French
neo-classicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
.
Biography
Suvée was born in
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 ...
. Initially a pupil of
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.Jean-Jacques Bachelier. In 1771, he won the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
. In Rome from 1772 to 1778, he prolonged the usual duration allowed to pensionaries of the French Academy in Rome. He was named an academician on his return to Paris and he opened an art school for young women at 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 ...
. One of his students was Constance Mayer. He emulated and competed with
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
, earning his enduring hatred.
Named the French Academy in Rome's director in 1792, replacing François-Guillaume Ménageot, he was imprisoned for a while in the
Prison Saint-Lazare
Saint-Lazare Prison was a prison in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France. It existed from 1793 until 1935 and was housed in a former motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians.
History
in the 12th century a Leper colony, ...
and only able to take up the post in 1801. After a brilliant career, and a six years' stay in Rome as the Academy's Director, he died there suddenly.
His works include ''Achilles depositing the body of Hector at the feet of the body of Patroclus'', (1769, Louvre), and ''Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi'', (1795, Louvre).
His pupils were Jean-Baptiste Joseph Autrique (1777–1853), Augustin van den Berghe, Marie Bouliard, Cornelis Cels, Césarine Henriette Flore Davin, Joseph-François Ducq, Jean-Bernard Duvivier, Guillielmus Petrus Geysen (1761–1827), Albert Gregorius,
Jean-François Legillon
Jean-François Legillon, originally Jan Frans (1 September 1739, Bruges - 23 November 1797, Paris) was a Flemish people, Flemish painter who specialized in scenes with cattle. His name is sometimes written as Le Gillon.
Biography
He was educate ...
RKD
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...
Anna Barbara Bansi, with whom he is said to have had an affair,Profile at the ''Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800''. was another pupil.
Selected paintings
File:The Predication of Saint Paul LACMA M.2000.179.24.jpg, ''The Predication of Saint Paul''
File:Joseph-Benoît Suvée - Milo van Croton (1763).jpg, ''
Milo of Croton
Milo or Milon of Croton () was a famous Ancient Greece, ancient Greek athlete from Crotone, Croton, which is today in the Magna Graecia region of southern Italy.
Milo was a six-time winner at the Ancient Olympic Games, Olympics, once for boys' w ...
''
File:Joseph-Benoît Suvée - Cornelia, madre dei Gracchi.JPG, '' Cornelia, mother of the
Gracchi
The Gracchi brothers were two brothers who lived during the beginning of the late Roman Republic: Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus. They served in the Tribune of the plebs, plebeian tribunates of 133 BC and 122–121 BC, respec ...
''
File:Joseph Benoit Suvee - Erminia and the Shepherds.jpg, '' Erminia and the Shepherds''