Largillière portrait de Jacques-Antoine Arlaud

Jacques Antoine Arlaud (1668 –1743) was a

Genevan , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

miniature painter A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

. His family obtained in 1617 the citizenship (''bourgeoisie'') in Geneva
Arlaud
in the

Historical Dictionary of Switzerland The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publish ...

). Geneva was then an independent republic, which it remained until it joined Switzerland in 1815.

Life

Arlaud was born in Geneva in 1668. His father was a watchmaker from the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

. He began his artistic career painting small ornamental miniatures for the jewellers at

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

. He also attempted some portraits, which proved sufficiently successful to encourage him to move to Paris, at the age of about twenty. It was not long before he distinguished himself in the city, and his pleasing style of painting portraits and fancy subjects recommended him to the patronage of the Duke of Orleans, who, being fond of the art, became his pupil, and accommodated him with apartments in the palace of St. Cloud. He was also favoured with the protection of the Princess Palatine, who presented him with her portrait, set in diamonds, when he expressed a desire to visit England, gave him, in 1721, a letter of recommendation to the Princess of Wales, afterwards Queen Caroline, whose portrait he had the honour of painting. He returned to Paris, where he remained for a few years, and having acquired an ample fortune, he settled in 1729 at Geneva, where he died in 1743. Works by him are in the

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and Museum of that city. His own portrait is in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. His brother was Benjamin Arlaud (1670-1731).

References

Sources

* 18th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva 17th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva 1668 births 1743 deaths {{painter-stub