Jean-François Leriget de La Faye (1674,

Vienne, Isère Vienne (; frp, Vièna) is a town in southeastern France, located south of Lyon, at the confluence of the Gère and the Rhône. It is the fourth largest-commune in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture alongside La Tour-du- ...

– 11 July 1731, Paris) was a French diplomat, wealthy landowner and art collector, poet,Moore, Susan (April 2017). Preview. '' Apollo: The International Magazine for Collectors'' 185 (652): 70 and member of the Académie française for a single year. At one time a musketeer, through social connections La Faye became a member of the court of

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 ...

. His position was head of the royal cabinet, and private secretary and special adviser to the King on matters such as finding a wife for the young

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 reached ...

. He also performed various diplomatic missions in London, Genoa and Utrecht, including involvement in negotiating the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

, and was also a director of the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...

. Often classified first as a poet, La Faye's work was indeed approvingly quoted by his correspondent

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

and others, but his work tended towards light verse and he was not prolific. His most well-known work was likely the ''Ode to Worms'', published in the

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published ...

. La Faye was the owner of an extensive art collection, two hotels in Paris, and another in

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, ...

. When he acquired the ancient

château de Condé The Château de Condé is a private estate in Condé-en-Brie, Aisne, France, set in a park on the Champagne route 100 km from Paris. The Château de Condé is a private estate, listed as a historic monument and inhabited year round. Its 17 ...

in 1719, he commissioned the most fashionable artists of his time and the architect

Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni Jean-Nicolas Servan, also known as Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni (2 May 1695 – 19 January 1766) was an Italian decorator, architect, scene-painter, firework designer and trompe-l'œil specialist. He was born in Florence, the son of a French ...

for elaborate improvements. For the

interior decoration Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

he hired

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 ...

and his disciple François Boucher;

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

and his disciple

Nicolas Lancret Nicolas Lancret (22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743) was a French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the regency of the Duke of Orleans and, late ...

; as well as

Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Ch ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leriget De La Faye, Jean-Francois 1674 births 1731 deaths Writers from Vienne, Isère Members of the Académie Française 18th-century French poets French male poets 18th-century French male writers French diplomats