Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (called ''Lagrenée l'aîné'', Lagrenée the elder) (30 December 1724 – 19 June 1805) was a French

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

painter and student of Carle van Loo. He won the ''Grand Prix de Rome'' for painting in 1749 and was elected a member of the '' Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture'' in 1755. His younger brother Jean-Jacques Lagrenée (called ''Lagrenée le jeune'', Lagrenée the younger) was also a painter.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

on the 30th of December 1724 and from an early age he showed promise in

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

and

painting 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 ...

. During his youth, master painter members of the French Royal Academy offered a rolling programme of courses, open to the public (for a small fee), in life drawing and the principles and techniques of art. These courses gave academy members a chance to identify and nurture six of the most gifted young students in any given year and offer them a place on a scheme known as the ''École royale des élèves protégés'', a scheme which offered free tuition with a small

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

for three years, preparing students for '' Prix de Rome'' competitions. After being selected for and completing this three-year programme, under the tutelage of Carle van Loo, he won the ''Grand Prix de Rome'' on his first attempt in 1749, with the painting ''Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh'' (now lost). As a student at the French Academy in Rome, he developed a "Formative if youthful fixation with Baroque painting". Above all, he was inspired by the Bolognese School, particularly by the work of Guido Reni (1575–1642) and

Francesco Albani Francesco Albani or Albano (17 March or 17 August 1578 – 4 October 1660) was an Italian Baroque painter of Albanian descent who was active in Bologna (1591–1600; 1609; 1610; 1618–1622), Rome (1600–1609; 1610–1617; 1623–1625), ...

(1578–1660). Later in his career, he acquired the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

'the French Albani' (''l'Albane Francais''). After returning from Rome in 1753, he set to work on a large painting - ''The Abduction of Deianira by the Centaur Nessus'' (Musée du

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 ...

) - which, when finished in 1755, was the reception piece which earned him a membership in the Royal Academy, by a unanimous vote. By this time, he was already considered something of a celebrity. On Monday the 10th of July 1758, at the age of 33, he married 16-year-old Anne-Agathe Isnard. Fifty-five years later, on 19 June 1805, his death certificate recorded that they were still married.

Later career

His career blossomed in Paris, by completing many commissions for eminent patrons and members of a flourishing new financial community as well as submitting regular entries to the Paris

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exhibitions. His reputation caught the attention of Elizabeth Petrovna, Empress of Russia, who, in 1760, appointed him to the offices of the director of the Imperial Academy of Arts and that of her principal court painter. After only two years in Russia, he returned to Paris to take up the appointment of professor-rector at the Royal Academy. He spent the years between 1781 and 1787 at the Villa Medici in Rome, in his capacity as director of the French Academy. A final return to Paris saw him appointed to the position of honorary curator-director (administration) of the Louvre museum. He was made a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on the 15th of July 1804 by Napoleon I. He died the following year.

Works in Public Collections (''non exhaustive'')

Paintings

musée du 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 ...

: ''L'Enlèvement de Déjanire par le centaure Nessus'' (1755), ''Mercure, Aglaure et Hersé'' (1767), ''Psyché surprend l'Amour endormi'' (1768), ''La Mort de la Femme de Darius'' (1785), ''L'Amour des Arts console la Peinture des écrits ridicules et envenimés de ses ennemis'' *

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 ...

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 ...

: ''Mars et Vénus surpris par Vulcain'' (1768) * Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon : ''La Moisson - Cérès et l'Agriculture'' (vers 1770) *

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, Getty Center : ''Vénus et Mars, une allégorie de la Paix'' (1770) * Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper : ''Esther et Assuérus'' (1775–1780) * Musée des arts décoratifs de Paris : ''Jupiter transformé en taureau enlève Europe'', ''Thétys reçoit Apollon'' *

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

: ''Pygmalion and Galatea'', (1781) * Palace of Fontainebleau : ''The death of the Dauphin, surrounded by his family'', (1765) * Lyon Cathedral, ''Saint John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos'', (1758) Venus aux Forges

Tapestries

* Collection of mythological subjects, after six paintings, acquired by the ''administration royale'' for the ''manufacture d'Aubusson'', 1759:Pascal-François Bertrand. ''Aubusson, tapisseries des Lumières'', Paris, Snoeck / Aubusson : Cité de la tapisserie, 2013, . ** ''Aurore enlève Céphale'', whereabouts of cartoon unknown. ** ''Jupiter transformé en taureau enlève Europe'', carton conserved at the musée des Arts décoratifs de Paris ** ''Vénus aux forges de Lemnos'', cartoon described by

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...

after the salon of 1759, tapestry conserved at the musée départemental de la tapisserie d'Aubusson ** ''Borée enlève Orythie'', whereabouts unknown. ** ''Thétys reçoit Apollon'', cartoon conserved at the ''musée des Arts décoratifs'', Paris ** ''Mercure apporte Bacchus aux nymphes de Nysa'', also known as ''La Naissance de Bacchus'', tapestry conserved at the Mobilier National, Paris.

Gallery

File:Lagrenée Diana and Endymion.jpg, '' Diana and Endymion'', (1776) File:Le Dauphin mourant entouré de sa famille, le duc de Bourgogne lui présente le couronne de l'immortalité, le 20 décembre 1765.jpg, ''Death of the Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765)'', (1765) File:Mars et Venus surpris par Vulcain..jpg, ''Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan'', (1768) File:La Mort de la femme de Darius.jpg, ''Death of the Wife of Darius'', (1785) File:Lagrenee - Alcibiades on his Knees Before his Mistress - c.1781.jpg, '' Alcibiades on his Knees Before his Mistress'' (c.1781) File:Lagrenee, Louis Jean - Apelles verliebt sich in die Geliebte Alexander des Große - 1772.jpg, '' Apelles Falls in Love with Campaspe; Beloved of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

'' (1772) File:Lagrenee, Louis Jean - Aurora's Take Off.jpg, ''The Ascent of

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

'', (1763) File:Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée - Marte y Venus, alegoría de la Paz, Jean Paul Getty Museum, 1770FXD.jpg, ''Mars and Venus, An Allegory of Peace'' (1770)

Notable students

* Antoine-Denis Chaudet (1763–1810) * Lagrenée le Jeune (''the younger''), (his brother) * Pierre Peyron (1744–1814)

References

Bibliography

* '' Benezit Dictionary of Artists'' * Marc Sandoz, ''Les Lagrenée, I. Louis (Jean, François) Lagrénée, 1725–1805'', Tours, 1983 * Pascal-François Bertrand, « La tenture des sujets mythologiques d'après Lagrenée l'aîné reconstituée », dans ''Aubusson, tapisseries des Lumières'', Paris, Aubusson, 2013 *

External links

Lagrenée l’Ainé
in the French National archive: Joconde {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagrenee, Louis Prix de Rome for painting 1724 births 1805 deaths Rococo painters Painters from Paris 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists