Adélaïde Labille-Guiard - The Sculptor Augustin Pajou - WGA12364

Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. At eighteen 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 ...

, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

Selected works

Pajou's portrait busts of Buffon and of

Madame du Barry Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry (19 August 1743 – 8 December 1793) was the last '' maîtresse-en-titre'' of King Louis XV of France. She was executed, by guillotine, during the French Revolution due to accounts of treason—particularly bei ...

(1773), and his statuette of

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addr ...

(all in the Louvre), are amongst his best works. When

Bernard Poyet Bernard Poyet (3 May 1742, Dijon - 6 December 1824, Paris was a French architect; best known for his work on the Palais Bourbon. Biography He was a student of Charles De Wailly who, in 1766, charged him with supervising the construction of a b ...

constructed the " Fontaine des Innocents" from the earlier edifice of

Pierre Lescot Pierre Lescot (c. 1515 – 10 September 1578) was a French architect active during the French Renaissance. His most notable works include the Fontaine des Innocents and the Lescot wing of the Louvre in Paris. He played an important role in t ...

, Pajou provided a number of new figures for the work. Mention should also be made of his bust of Carlin Bertinazzi (1763) at the Comédie Française, and the monument to

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; ; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Sta ...

, Queen of France (in the Salon of 1769). Pajou was one of the main artists whose work was included in the collection of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

at the end of the 18th century. Others were

Jean-Baptiste d'Huez Jean-Baptiste Cyprien d'Huez (1728 – 27 October 1793) was a French sculptor. Early years Jean-Baptiste Cyprien d'Huez was born in Arras in 1728. His younger brother was Charles-Alexandre d'Huez, who became an architect. Huez studied under Jea ...

Jean-Joseph Foucou Jean-Joseph Foucou (1739 – 16 February 1821) was a French sculptor. Foucou was born at Riez, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. A student at the École de peinture et de sculpture of Marseille, he went to Paris, where he entered the workshop of Jean- ...

, Simon-Louis Boizot and

Pierre-François Berruer Pierre-François Berruer (1733 – 4 April 1797) was a French sculptor. He is known for the twelve statues that decorate the front of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. Early years Pierre François Berruer was born in Paris in 1733. In 1754 he won ...

. Pajou was commissioned by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

to make the copies of the

Medici Lions The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century pendant. Both were by 1598 placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they have been displayed at th ...

now situated in the garden of the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

1803. Pajou died in Paris on 8 May 1809. The

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

(London), the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by ...

(New York City),

Harvard University Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

(Cambridge, Massachusetts), the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the larges ...

(Saint Petersburg, Russia), the

Honolulu Museum of Art The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single co ...

, the

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

(Los Angeles, California), the

, Beli Dvor (Belgrade), the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(New York City), the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, Museum of Fine Arts, Lyon, France,

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures repr ...

(Toulouse, France), Musée des Beaux-arts, Nantes, France, Musée National du Château, Pau, France, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

(Washington D.C.), the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

(Canberra) and the

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Mus ...

are among the public collections holding sculpture by Augustin Pajou.

Children

Jacques-Augustin-Catherine Pajou Jacques-Augustin-Catherine Pajou (27 August 1766, Paris - 28 November 1828, Paris) was a French painter in the Classical style. Biography His father was the sculptor, Augustin Pajou. Nothing is known of his childhood. In 1784, at the age of ...

(1766–1828), painter *Catherine Flore Pajou, known as "Tante Cocotte" by her brother. She married the sculptor

Claude Michel Claude Michel (20 December 1738 – 29 March 1814), known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style, especially noted for his works in marble, bronze, & terracotta. Life He was born in Nancy to Anne Adam and Thomas Michel, an un ...

, but he was far older than she was and marriage proved unhappy, ending in divorce. From

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

, in his friend Riban's house, where he had gone in year III, Augustin wrote to his son: "This good captive embraces you, unlike the sister whose negligence is not worth this mark of your friendship. I say nothing of the advantages of this article, for a sheaf of paper would not suffice to describe all the complaints we have made against her, and if she has a conscience, she must sense that we have great reason." In 1795 she remarried to Pierre-Louis Martin, known as Saint-Martin who, after several careers, died in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

as conseiller to the Cour d'Appel. An amateur artist and collector, Saint-Martine produced several paintings of the city of Liège and had his portrait painted by Philippe-Auguste Hennequin.Number P.47 in Jérémie Benoit's catalogue of that artist's works Flore divorced her second husband in year 10 and died on 9 December 1841 at 30 rue de l'Odéon in Paris.

References

External links

''Augustin Pajou: Royal Sculptor, 1730–1809 (1997)''
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF)
''Europe in the age of enlightenment and revolution''
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Pajou (see index) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pajou, Augustin 1730 births 1809 deaths 18th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French sculptors Prix de Rome for sculpture Artists from Paris 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists