Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (15 February 1704 – 1778) 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 ...

of the 18th century who worked in both the

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

and neoclassical style. He made monumental statuary for the

Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles (french: Jardins du château de Versailles ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover so ...

but was best known for his expressive portrait busts.

Life

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne was born in Paris in 1705. His father

Jean-Louis Lemoyne Jean-Louis Lemoyne (1665–1755) was a French sculptor whose works were commissioned by Louis XIV and Louis XV. His sculptures are featured in major art museums, including the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection, the ...

, was also a sculptor, and was first teacher. He later became a student of another prominent sculptor, Robert Le Lorrain. He is sometimes referred to as Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne or "the younger" to distinguish him from his uncle of the same name, another sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Elder. He received 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 ...

awarded by the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and 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 abo ...

, but remained in Paris to aid his blind father. He became a member of the Academy in 1838, and, later became its director. Like the other royal sculptors, made statuary for the

. He was a particular favorite of

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rem ...

, the mistress of the King and an important patron of the arts. He made a graceful rococo sculpture of Vertumnus and Pomone, two characters from the

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

, which was a favorite theme of Madame Pompadour. The sculpture is now in the Louvre. He also made a state of Madame Pompadour in the costume of a nymph. He made several busts of Louis XV, and an equestrian statue of the King for the courtyard of the new Ecole Militaire, but this was destroyed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. He was especially known for the quality of his portrait busts, which captured the passing nuances of expression and gave a sense of movement. His important portrait busts included those of the naturalist

René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (; 28 February 1683, La Rochelle – 17 October 1757, Saint-Julien-du-Terroux) was a French entomologist and writer who contributed to many different fields, especially the study of insects. He introduced t ...

(1751); the painter

Noël-Nicolas Coypel Noël-Nicolas Coypel (17 November 1690 – 14 December 1734) was a popular French artist. The son of Noël Coypel Noël Coypel (; 25 December 1628 – 24 December 1707) was a French painter, and was also called Coypel le Poussin, beca ...

(1760); the scientist Fontenelle (at Versailles);

; and

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

in 1771. He is considered the most skilled of the French

sculptors. Lemoyne's students included

Étienne Maurice Falconet Étienne Maurice Falconet (1 December 1716 – 24 January 1791) was a French baroque, rococo and neoclassical sculptor, best-known for his equestrian statue of Peter the Great, the ''Bronze Horseman'' (1782), in St. Petersburg, Russia, and for ...

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, and

Augustin Pajou Augustin Pajou (19 September 1730 – 8 May 1809) was a French sculptor, born in Paris. At eighteen he won the Prix de Rome, and at thirty exhibited his ''Pluton tenant Cerbère enchaîné'' (now in the Louvre). Selected works Pajou's portrait ...

Sculpture

File:The Comtesse de Feuquieres by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Terracotta, circa 1738 CE. From Paris, France. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.jpg, The Comtesse de Feuquieres by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Terracotta, circa 1738 CE. From Paris, France. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London File:Noel-Nicolas Coypel by Lemoyne.jpg, A plaster bust of his friend Noel-Nicolas Coypel, 1730 (

Snite Museum of Art The Snite Museum of Art is the fine art museum on the University of Notre Dame campus, near South Bend, Indiana. With about 30,000 works of art that span cultures, eras, and media, the Snite Museum's permanent collection serves as a rich resource ...

) File:Château de Versailles, appartements du Dauphin et de la Dauphine, seconde antichambre du Dauphin, buste de Louis XV, Jean-Baptiste II Lemoyne (1749) 03.jpg,

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

(1749),

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

File:Model for the Monument to Louis XV at Rennes, c. 1746-1748, by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, terracotta - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09418.JPG, Model for a Monument to Louis XV in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

(1746–48),

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

File:Vertumne et pomone.JPG, '' Vertumnus and Pomona'', 1760 (the Louvre) File:Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne - Bernard le Bouvier de Fontenelle.jpg, Essaying and scientist Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1749) Carnegie Museum of Art File:Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1740–1766) MET CT 17223.jpg, Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1768), Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Buste de Marie-Antoinette par Jean Baptiste Lemoyne - 1771.jpg,

(1771) (Musée d'Histoire de l'art, Vienne) File:Félicité Sophie de Lannion, Duchesse de La Rochefoucauld, at the Age of 29 Years (1745–1830) MET ES5995.jpg, The Duchesse de La Rochefoucauld (1774), Metropolitan Museum of Art

Notes

Bibliography

* * * Geese, Uwe, Section on Baroque sculpture in ''L'Art Baroque – Architecture – Sculpture – Peinture'' (French translation from German), H.F. Ulmann, Cologne, 2015. () * Duby, Georges and Daval, Jean-Luc, ''La Sculpture de l'Antiquité au XXe Siècle'', (French translation from German), Taschen, (2013), ()

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemoyne, Jean-Baptiste 1704 births 1778 deaths French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French painters French male painters Material culture of royal courts 18th-century French male artists

Life

Sculpture

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links