Claude-André Deseine (12 April 1740 – 30 December 1823) was a French sculptor and the elder brother of

Louis-Pierre Deseine Louis-Pierre Deseine (1749–1822) was a French sculptor, who was born and died in Paris. He is known above all for his portrait busts and imaginary portraits. Life Deseine trained in several ateliers, notably with Augustin Pajou, whose port ...

Life

Deseine was the son of an artisan and his wife, and was one of many (perhaps more than fifteen) children. His father died in 1777 and a court ruled that Deseine, "being deaf and dumb from birth", could control his own income but had to have his possessions managed by guardians. In 1778, he was a student at the

Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in Paris. Soon after, he started working professionally: in 1783 he sold busts of Madame Saint-Huberty,

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

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

, from his house in Paris. Deseine had been a former pupil of l'Abbe de l'Eppe, a priest who had opened the world's first free school for the deaf, and developed a form of sign language. In 1786 he presented the National Assembly with a bust of his former teacher. Deseine's work gained prominence 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 ...

. The art historian

Michael Levey Sir Michael Vincent Levey, LVO, FBA, FRSL (8 June 1927 – 28 December 2008) was a British art historian and was the director of the National Gallery from 1973 to 1986. Biography Levey was born in Wimbledon, London, and grew up in Leigh-on- ...

has contrasted his Republican sensibilities, and the exaggerated character of his portrait studies, with the work of his royalist younger brother Louis-Pierre. Deseine was often at the

Jacobin Club , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...

, where he obtained a prize for his 1791 bust of Mirabeau and sold a number of busts of other deputies. He successfully petitioned the Assembly for the right to make a full-size statue of l'Eppe based upon his earlier bust, but never completed this work: as time went on, all priests soon became objects of suspicion to the revolutionary authorities. One of Deseine's more notorious commissions took place on the night of 17 February 1793. The sculptor was recruited by

Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augu ...

and brought to Sainte-Catherine cemetery, to the grave of Danton's recently deceased wife. The body of

Antoinette Gabrielle Danton Antoinette Gabrielle Danton ( Charpentier; c.1762 – 10 February 1793) was the first wife of the French Revolutionary leader Georges Jacques Danton. Biography Antoinette Gabrielle Charpentier was the daughter of Jérôme François Charpent ...

was excavated so that Deseine could make her

death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a foss ...

. This was then used to create an accurate commemorative bust. After the fall of Robespierre in 1794 many Jacobins, including Deseine, went underground. Little is known of his later years.

Partial List of Works

* Portrait bust of Madame Saint-Huberty (1783) * Portrait bust of

(1783) * Portrait bust of

(1783) * Portrait bust of a young girl with wreath of flowers (1784) * Portrait bust of l’Abbé de l’Épée (1786) * Portrait bust of Muhammad Osman Khan (1788) * Allegory of Liberty, with M. d'Orléans (1791) * Portrait bust of Mirabeau (1791) * Portrait bust of

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

(1792) * Portrait bust of

(1793) * Portrait bust of Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau (1793) * Portrait bust of

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...

(1793) * Portrait bust of Mucius Scaevola (1793) File:Antoinette-Garbielle Charpentier--Claude-André Deseine IMG 2306.JPG, Bust of

File:Robespierre IMG 2300.jpg, Bust of

(

Musée de la Révolution française The Musée de la Révolution française (Museum of the French Revolution) is a departmental museum in the French town of Vizille, south of Grenoble on the Route Napoléon. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the French Revolution. ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deseine, Claude Andre 1740 births 1823 deaths 18th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French sculptors Deaf artists French deaf people 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists