The ''Premier peintre du Roi'' (''First painter to the King'') was a

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

position within the administration of the ''

Bâtiments du Roi The Bâtiments du Roi (, "King's Buildings") was a division of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris. History The Bâtiments ...

'' of the '' Département de la Maison du Roi'' in France 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 ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

''. Its holder occupied a similar position to that of ''

Premier architecte du Roi Under the Ancien Régime, the First Architect to the King (french: Premier Architecte du Roi) was the direct assistant to the general director of the building industries, arts and manufactures of France and, consequently, number 2 of the Bâtiments ...

'' (albeit a far less prestigious one). The holder was not in charge of any other court staff, and the role was often without a holder. Unlike other countries, the ''Premier peintre'' was often, even usually, not a specialist portrait-painter, but was always a native Frenchman. The most famous holder, Nicolas Poussin, was persuaded to return to France in 1640 to take the office, but returned to Rome after a little more than a year. Despite this, he held the position for another 23 years. In contrast, his successor

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...

devoted most of his time to his work for

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, decorating his palaces and designing for and supervising the royal factories of the

Savonnerie manufactory The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile carpets, enjoying its greatest period c. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers. The manuf ...

for carpets and the Gobelins Manufactory for

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

and furniture. Le Brun had a bitter, life-long rivalry with the portraitist

Pierre Mignard Pierre Mignard or Pierre Mignard I (17 November 1612 – 30 May 1695), called "Mignard le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter known for his religious and mythological scenes and portraits. He was ...

, who finally succeeded him at the age of 78, but only held the post for the five years before he died.Lada Nikolenko. "Mignard." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 May. 2017

Holders

* 1603–1619 : Martin Fréminet * 1627–1649 :

Simon Vouet Simon Vouet (; 9 January 1590 – 30 June 1649) was a French painter who studied and rose to prominence in Italy before being summoned by Louis XIII to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of artists created religious and ...

* 1641–1665 : Nicolas Poussin * 1664–1690 :

* 1690–1695 :

* 1695–1716 : ''vacant'' * 1716–1722 :

Antoine Coypel Antoine Coypel (11 April 16617 January 1722) was a French painter, pastellist, engraver, decorative designer and draughtsman.Louis de Boullogne Louis de Boullogne II (19 November 1654 – 2 November 1733), known as Boullogne fils, was a French painter. Life Boullogne was born and died in Paris, and was the brother of Bon Boullogne. Their father, Louis Boullogne, feared rivalry between t ...

* 1733–1736 : ''vacant'' * 1736–1737 :

François Lemoyne François Lemoyne or François Le Moine (; 1688 – 4 June 1737) was a French rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which co ...

* 1737–1746 : ''vacant'' * 1746–1752 : Charles-Antoine Coypel * 1752–1762 : ''vacant'' * 1762–1765 : Carle Van Loo * 1765–1770 : François Boucher Levey, Michael. (1993) ''Painting and sculpture in France 1700-1789''. New Haven:

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, p. 172. * 1770–1789 :

Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (6 March 1714 – 15 May 1789) was a French painter, draughtsman and administrator. Life He was a student of Charles-Joseph Natoire at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture and painted a self-portrait in 17 ...

* 1789–1791 :

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier ...

References

{{Reflist Arts and culture in the Ancien Régime Offices in the Ancien Régime *