Radigues Portrait of Ivan Betskoy engraving 1794

Antoine-Christophe Radigues (; 7 November 1721,

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

- 20 July 1809,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) was a French engraver and

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

who spent much of his career in Russia.

Biography

His father, Jacques Radigues, was also an engraver, and probably gave Antoine his first lessons before he pursued formal studies in Paris. During the 1750s, he travelled extensively, to Holland, England and Germany. Some of his first engravings were illustrations for the fables of

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

. He was invited to Russia in 1764, to teach at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

; replacing Georg Friedrich Schmidt, who had resigned following the death of his patroness,

Empress Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous constructio ...

. His first major assignment involved creating thirty images for a burial album of the Empress; a project that occupied him for three years and almost cost him his sight. It was left incomplete, and never published, by official orders. This may have been due to the fact that, since 1765, he had been teaching at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

, as well as the Academy of Sciences; something which caused displeasure at both institutions. This came to a head in 1769, and he was dismissed from his positions. He chose to remain in Saint Petersburg and work as a free-lance engraver. Numerous portraits were commissioned by the Golitsyn and Kurakin families. He also did two portraits of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, based on oil paintings by

Vigilius Eriksen Vigilius Eriksen (2 September 1722 in Copenhagen – 25 May 1782 in Rungstedgård) was a Danish painter. He was the royal portraitist to Christian VI of Denmark. Biography He initially studied under Johann Salomon Wahl. In 1755 he was awa ...

. In 1789, he was allowed to return to the Imperial Academy. He was named an Academician in 1794, for his engraving of

Ivan Betskoy Ivan Ivanovich Betskoi or Betskoy (; ) was an educational reformer in the Russian Empire who served as Catherine II's advisor on education and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for thirty years (1764–1794). Perhaps the crowning achieve ...

, after an oil portrait by

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (; spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insightful psyc ...

. He retired in 1795, and was awarded an annual pension.

Gavriil Skorodumov Gavriil Ivanovich Skorodumov (; 12 March 1755 – 12 July 1792) was a Russian engraver, draftsman, and painter, best known for his stipple prints. The most notable printmaker from the Catherinian Era, Catherinian era, Skorodumov had an active care ...

and are, perhaps, his best-known students. His works may be seen at the State Russian Museum, 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, and holds the large ...

, and the

Pushkin Museum The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

, among others.

Sources

"Radigues, Antoine"
from the ''

Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (''RBD''; ) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Imperial Russian Historical Society and edited by a collective with Alexander Polovtsov as the editor-in-chief An editor-in-c ...

'', 1910 * * Eduard Konovalov, ''Новый полный биографический словарь русских художников'', Litres, 2017

External links

Biography of Radigues
@ ArtInvestment {{DEFAULTSORT:Radigues, Antoine 1721 births 1809 deaths French engravers French emigrants to the Russian Empire Engravers from the Russian Empire Imperial Academy of Arts Artists from Reims