Nicolas-André Monsiau (1754 – 31 May 1837) was a French

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek mythology, Greek and Roman my ...

and a refined draughtsman who turned to book illustration to supplement his income when the French Revolution disrupted patronage. His '' Poussiniste'' drawing style and coloring marked his conservative art in the age of

Neoclassicism 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 ...

Background

His training at the school of 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 ...

, Paris, was under the direction of

Jean-François Pierre Peyron Jean-François Pierre Peyron (15 December 1744 – 20 January 1814) was a French Neoclassical painter, printmaker, and art collector. Biography Peyron was born on 15 December 1744 in Aix-en-Provence in Southern France to a wealthy family. ...

. An early patron, the marquis de Corberon, paid for a sojourn at Rome, where he studied at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...

from 1776. On his return to Paris, he was unable to exhibit in the annual Paris salons, which were closed to all but those who had been received (''"agréé"'') by the Académie or were members, under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. Instead he found an outlet in the smaller ''Salon de la corréspondance'', where in 1782 he showed a

tenebrist Tenebrism, from Italian ('dark, gloomy, mysterious'), also occasionally called dramatic illumination, is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness become ...

''Piquant effect of the light of a lamp.'' Two years later he was received at the Académie with a historical subject, ''Alexander taming Bucephalus'' and was made a member 3 October 1787, his second attempt, on the strength of ''The Death of

Agis Agis or AGIS may refer to: People * Agis I (died 900 BC), Spartan king * Agis II (died 401 BC), Spartan king * Agis III (died 331 BC), Spartan king * Agis IV (265–241 BC), Spartan king * Agis (Paeonian) (died 358 BC), King of the Paeonians * Ag ...

.'' The influence of

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 ...

, an acquaintance from Monsiau's days in Rome, is most vividly represented by Monsiau's ''Ulysses, after returning to his palace and slaying Penelope's suitors, orders the women to remove the corpses'' (1791 Salon), where the action is played out in a shallow frieze-like space defined by a colonnade parallel to the picture plane. In his best-known painting, ''Zeuxis choosing among the most beautiful girls of Crotona'', shown at the Salon of 1791,Conserved in the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

, Toronto. Monsiau illustrates an anecdote of the painter Zeuxis, recorded in Pliny's ''Natural History'', that exemplifies an essential aspect of the Classical approach to artistic creation, in the artist's refining an ideal Art by selecting from among the lesser beauties of Nature. Monsiau's great public commission was a commemoration of the occasion on 26 January 1802, at which Napoleon delivered an authoritarian constitution to the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...

at a convocation of notables (the ''consulta'') at Lyon.

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

had turned down the commission, preferring to continue his series of individual portraits of the Bonapartes. Monsiau received the commission in 1806; the finished painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1808 and was installed at the

Tuileries The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

the following year. Monsiau was among the first history painters to depict scenes from modern history that were not commemorations of battles. He showed ''

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

reading

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

at the house of

Ninon de Lenclos Ninon is a lightweight, sheer fabric made with plain or leno weaving, it is a suitable material for curtains, evening wear and lingerie. Ninon is made with variety of filament yarns such as polyester, silk, rayon or nylon. History Ninon is a ...

'' at the

Salon of 1802 The Salon of 1802 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris during the era of the French Consulate. It was held the same year as the Treaty of Amiens that ended the French Revolutionary Wars. Staged by the former Académie Royale it featur ...

. It was engraved by Jean-Louis Anselin. His painting of Louis XVI giving instructions to the sea captain-explorer La Pérouse before his attempted circumnavigation was exhibited at the Salon of 1817 and was purchased for the recently restored

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

. His portrayal of a sensational episode in which an escaped lion from the Grand Ducal menagerie in Florence had dropped a child it had picked up, without harming it, was exhibited at the

Salon of 1801 Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

and is conserved in 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 ...

. Among his pupils was the portrait draughtsman Louis Letronne (1790–1842), whose pencil portrait of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

is iconic.

Gallery

File:Nicolas-André MONSIAU - La Folie conduisant l'Amour aveugle.jpg, La Folie conduisant l'Amour aveugle, (1796), Paris File:The Debate Of Socrates And Aspasia (2).jpg, ''Aspasia Conversing with Socrates and Alcibiades'' (1801), Pushkin Museum. File:Monsiau, Nicolas-André - Le Lion de Florence - 1801.JPG, ''The Lion of Florence'' (1801),

. File:Nicolas-André Monsiau - Aspasie s’entretenant avec les hommes illustres.jpg, ''Aspasia Conversing with the Most Illustrious Men of Athens'' (1806) File:Monsiau - Consulta de la Republique cisalpine.jpg, ''Les Membres de la Consulta de la République Cisalpine'' (1808), Versailles. File:Portrait du Président Thomas Berthereau.jpg, ''Portrait of President Thomas Berthereau'' (1811) File:Louis XVI et La Pérouse.jpg, '' Louis XVI giving his instructions to La Pérouse, ship's captain for his voyage of exploration around the world, in the presence of the Marquis of Castries, Minister for the Navy, 29 June 1785'' (1817), Versailles. File:Monsiau - Alexandre et Diogène.jpg, ''Alexandre et Diogène'' (1818), musée de Rouen.

References

Sources

*Benezit, ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs''.

External links

Nicolas-André Monsiau
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monsiau, Nicolas-Andre 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters 1754 births 1837 deaths 19th-century painters of historical subjects French draughtsmen 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists