Clément Louis Marie Anne Belle (16 November 1722 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 29 September 1806 in Paris) was a French painter and tapestry designer.

Life and work

He was the son of

Alexis Simon Belle Alexis Simon Belle (12 January 1674 – 21 November 1734) was a French portrait painter, known for his portraits of the French and Jacobite nobility. As a portrait artist, Belle's style followed that of his master François de Troy, Hyacinthe R ...

, a well-known portrait painter and a Member of 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 or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

in Paris and his wife, the painter and engraver Marie-Nicole Horthemels. Clément too showed a talent for art and was taught by his mother. In 1745 he went to Italy, where he spent 10 years studying the old masters and on his return to Paris was accepted into the Academy. In 1765 he was appointed Deputy Professor and then Professor. In 1785 he was appointed Deputy Rector and then Rector. In 1755 he was appointed head of the art section at the Gobelins Manufactory, an historic tapestry producer in Paris. Although he held the post for 30 years it did not prevent him creating paintings of his own. At some point between 1791 and 1793, the three painters (Belle,

Pierre Peyron Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Joseph-Laurent Malaine) who worked at the Gobelins were dismissed. He died in 1806. His son Augustin-Louis Belle succeeded him to his position at Gobelins.

Selected works

* ''Le Christ en Croix avec la Vierge et saint Jean'', 1762, oil on canvas, 292 x 195 cm,

Musée des beaux-arts de Dijon The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787, in Dijon, France. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. * ''Le Retour de l'enfant prodigue'',

musée Magnin The Musée Magnin is a national museum in the French city of Dijon in Burgundy, in the Côte-d'Or department, with a collection of around 2,000 works of art collected by Maurice Magnin and his sister Jeanne and bequeathed to the state in 1938, alon ...

. * ''Minerve remet à Hercule le decret qui a aboli les vices de l'ancien gouvernement'', c.1790, oil on canvas, 36 x 39 cm, inventory no. INV 20297 A

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

br>Joconde website
* , c.1790, oil on canvas, 26 x 23 cm, inventory no. INV 20296 A

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* ''La Convention nationale décrète l'abolition de la monarchie'' (entre 1788 et 1794), oil on canvas,

Musée de la Révolution française The Musée de la Révolution française (Museum of the French Revolution) is a departments of France, 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 ...

Vizille Vizille (; ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Sights Vizille is the home of the Musée de la Révolution française, a rich depository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French Revolution ...

*''La Convention nationale remet à la France le code des Lois républicaines'' (entre 1788 et 1794), oil on canvas,

Selected paintings

Clément Belle - Vénus et Adonis - 1772.jpg , ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

'', 1772 Clément Belle - Vertumne et Pomone - 1772.jpg, ''

Vertumnus In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv), ...

and Pomona'', 1772 Clément Belle - La Convention Nationale décrète l'abolition de la monarchie 2.jpg, ''

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

gives to

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

the decree which abolished the vices of the former government'' Belle-Virtues.jpg, '' Faith, Hope and Charity''

References

Pierre-Jean Mariette Pierre-Jean Mariette (; 7 May 1694 – 10 September 1774) was a collector of and dealer in old master prints, a renowned connoisseur, especially of prints and drawings, and a chronicler of the careers of French Italian and Flemish artists. He ...

, Philippe de Chennevières et

Anatole de Montaiglon Anatole may refer to: People * Anatole (given name), a French masculine given name * Anatole (dancer) (19th century), French ballet dancer * Alex Anatole (born 1948), Russian-American Taoist priest * Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 184 ...

, ''Archives de l'art français. Recueil de documents inédits relatifs à l'histoire des arts en France'', Paris, J.-B. Dumoulin, 1856, . *

Joseph-François Michaud Joseph–François Michaud (; 19 June 1767 – 30 September 1839) was a French historian and publicist. Biography Michaud was born at either La Biolle or Albens in the Duchy of Savoy (then a part of the Holy Roman Empire and a possession of the ...

Louis-Gabriel Michaud Louis-Gabriel Michaud (; 19 January 1773, Castle Richemont – 8 March 1858) was a French writer, historian, printer, and bookseller. He was notable as the compiler of ''Biographie Universelle'' (1811–). Life He became a lieutenant on 15 Jul ...

, ''Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne'', Paris, Madame C. Desplaces, 1854, . * This article is based on the equivalent article on French Wikipedia

External links

Joconde website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle, Clément Louis Marie Anne 1722 births 1806 deaths Painters from Paris 18th-century French painters Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture