Antoine-Alexandre-Joseph Cardon (1739,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

– 1822, Brussels), also known as Cardon the elder to distinguish him from his son

Anthony Cardon Anthony Cardon (1772–1813) was a Flemish engraver in chalk or stipple, who made his career in England and became noted for his engravings and book illustrations. Life Anthony Cardon was born in Brussels in around 1772. He was the son and pupi ...

, was a painter, portraitist and engraver.

Life

He was born in Brussels, then in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

. He lived for a long time on rue de Persil (near place Saint-Michel, now known as Place des Martyrs) in the city, which also passed through French and Dutch hands during his lifetime, and shone in the arts under the Austrian, French and Dutch regimes. He was a student of Hyacinthe de La Peyne, painter to empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

, the sovereign of the Austrian Netherlands, and once followed his teacher to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Thanks to the protection of

Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 – 27 January 1770) was an 18th-century politician in the Habsburg monarchy. He was minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands in Brussels under Empress Maria Theresia from 1753 u ...

, Maria-Theresa's minister-plenipotentiary in Brussels, Cardon became a pensionary of the government and was thus able to stay for a time in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Recalled to Brussels by Cobenzl, he became a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and made his artistic career in the city - his pupils included

Adèle Kindt Adèle Kindt (16 December 1804 – 8 May 1893)Paul De Zuttere, "Quelques remarques à propos de l'exposition '1770–1830: Autour du Néo-Classicisme en Belgique' et notes additionnelles au catalogue", ''Etudes sur le XVIIIe siècle'', 13 (1986 ...

. It was there in 1810 that he and Antoine Brice founded an association of professional and amateur artists. In 1822 Cardon was named a member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands by

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

. He was a highly enthusiastic member of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, then having great success in the nobility of the Austrian Netherlands - his name is among the first initiates of the " loge de l'Union" (third lodge in Brussels, n° 9, inscribed on the tables of 1783 and 1786), and he engraved several Masonic diplomas and emblems. Cardon died in Brussels.

Works

His secular works include : * engraving of the painting by Antoine Brice, ''Consolation of the Austrian Monarchy on the death of emperor Leopold I''. * engravings for d'Hancarville's book on the antiquities collected in

by William Hamilton. * engravings of images after

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

. * portrait of

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

engraved after Willem Jacob Herreyns. * portrait of the prince de Ligne. * Masonic Diploma of Lodge La Constante Fidelite, Mechelen, Belgium (then Austrian Netherlands) * engraved portrait of the musician Ignace Vitzthumb.

Family

Antoine Cardon was the father of Philippe Cardon (?–1817) and of the engraver

the Younger (1772–1813) who set up as an engraver in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1793 and died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardon 1739 births 1822 deaths Artists from Brussels 18th-century painters from the Holy Roman Empire Artists from the Austrian Netherlands 18th-century Flemish engravers 19th-century Flemish engravers Freemasons