Eustache Le Sueur or Lesueur (; 19 November 161730 April 1655) was a French artist and one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting. He is known primarily for his paintings of religious subjects. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.

Training and career

He was born in Paris, where he spent his entire life. His father, Cathelin Le Sueur, a turner and sculptor in wood, placed him with Vouet, in whose studio he rapidly distinguished himself. Admitted at an early age into the guild of master-painters, he left them to take part in establishing the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648 and was elected as one of the original twelve elders in charge of its administration. Rape of Tamar - Le Seur

Some paintings, illustrative of the '' Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'', which were reproduced in tapestry, brought him notice, and his reputation was further enhanced by a series of decorations (

Louvre 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 ...

) in the mansion of Lambert de Thorigny, which he left uncompleted, for their execution was frequently interrupted by other commissions. Amongst these were several pictures for the apartments of the king and queen in the Louvre, which are now missing, although they were entered in Bailly's inventory (1710); but several works produced for minor patrons have come down to us. In the gallery of the Louvre are the ''Angel and Hagar'', from the mansion of De Tonnay Charente; ''Tobias and Tobit'', from the Fieubet collection; several pictures executed for the church of Saint Gervais; the ''Martyrdom of St Lawrence'', from Saint Germain de l'Auxerrois; two very fine works from the destroyed abbey of Marmoutiers; ''St Paul preaching at Ephesus'', one of Le Sueur's most complete and thorough performances, painted for the goldsmiths corporation in 1649; and his famous series of the ''Life of St Bruno'', executed in the cloister of the Chartreux. These last have more personal character than anything else Le Sueur produced, and much of their original beauty survives in spite of injuries and restorations and removal from the wall to canvas. Le Sueur was a prolific draftsman and many of his chalk drawings are in the Louvre's Cabinet des Dessins. His pupils, who aided him much in his work, were his wife's brother, Theodore Goussé, and three brothers of his own, as well as Claude Lefèbvre and Pierre Patel the landscape painter. Most of his works have been engraved, chiefly by Picart, B. Audran, Leclerc, Drevet, Chauveau, Poilly and Desplaces.

Style

According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, it was considered that Le Sueur's work lent itself readily to the engraver's art, as he had a delicate perception of varied shades of grave and elevated sentiment, and possessed the power to render them. His graceful facility in composition was always restrained by a very fine taste, but his works often fail to please completely, because, producing so much, he had too frequent recourse to conventional types, and partly because he rarely saw colour except with the cold and clayey quality proper to the school of Vouet; yet his ''St Paul at Ephesus'' and one or two other works show that he was not naturally deficient in this sense, and whenever we get direct reference to nature—as in the monks of the St Bruno series—we recognize his admirable power to read and render physiognomy of varied and serious type.Guillet de St Georges, ''Mm. mid.''; C Blanc, ''Histoire des peintres''; Vitet, ''Catalogue des tableaux du Louvre''; d'Argenville, ''Vies des peintres''

Selected works

File:Eustache Le Sueur.jpg, ''The

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

'', (1650) File:Eustache Le Sueur - The Muses - Clio, Euterpe and Thalia - WGA12611.jpg, ''The

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

: Clio, Euterpe and Thalia'' (between 1652 and 1655),

File:Le Sueur, Eustache - Melpomène, Érato et Polymnie - 1652 - 1655.jpg, ''Melpomene, Erato and Polyhymnia'' (1650s),

File:'An Allegory of Poetry' by Eustache Le Sueur.jpg, ''An Allegory of Poetry'' File:Eustache Le Sueur - Bacchus and Ariadne.jpg, ''Bacchus and Ariadne'' (about 1640)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

68.764
File:Le Sueur Camma Offers the Poisoned Wedding Cup to Synorix in the Temple of Diana.png, ''Camma Offers the Poisoned Wedding Cup to Synorix in the Temple of Diana'' (c. 1644),

File:Eustache Le Sueur - The Triumph of Galatea, 1643-1644.jpg, ''The Triumph of Galatea'' (1643–1644), private collection File:Eustache Le Sueur (1616-1655) - Christ on the Cross with the Magdalen, the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist - NG6548 - National Gallery.jpg, '' Christ on the Cross with the Magdalen, the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and Saint

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

'' (1643)

Notes

References

External links

Life of St. Bruno gallery
at the Louvre {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Sueur, Eustache 1617 births 1655 deaths French Baroque painters Members of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture