Marie-Françoise Sprote, later Marie Leschevin de Précourt, (18 May 1746 – 10 December 1818) was a French painter. 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 ...

, Sprote was the granddaughter of Dominique Sprote, a tailor who rose to become a ''conseiller du roi'', merchant and jeweler. Her father, Louis-Dominique Sprote, served as a ''conseiller de l’élection de Paris'' beginning in 1775.Profile
in the ''Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800''. He lived in the

rue Saint-Honoré The Rue Saint-Honoré () is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is named after the collegial , situated in ancient times within the cloisters of Saint-Honoré. The street, on which are located a number of museums and upscal ...

, where his daughter was born. She exhibited pastels and

miniature painting Miniature painting may refer to: * Miniature (illuminated manuscript), a small illustration used to decorate an illuminated manuscript ** Persian miniature, a small painting on paper in the Persian tradition, for a book or album ** Ottoman miniatur ...

s at the

place Dauphine The Place Dauphine () is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV of France, Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects ...

in 1767. More miniatures are mentioned again in a newspaper notice of the following year; this appears to have marked the end of her artistic career. In 1768, in

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 ...

, Sprote married Augustin Leschevin de Précourt, who held various royal offices throughout his career, and who was awarded a pension of 2400

livre Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Fre ...

s in 1788 by

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

; his wife received a pension of 600 livres at the same time. The couple had three sons, the eldest and only surviving of whom, Philippe-Xavier, would go on to become a chemist of note. He was imprisoned for five months during the French Revolution before his mother won his release. Her husband, meanwhile, was executed in 1793. Sprote died in Paris.

References

1746 births 1818 deaths 18th-century French painters Painters from Paris 18th-century French women painters {{France-painter-18thC-stub