François Puget (17 December 1651,

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

- 6 October 1707,

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

) was a French painter in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style; known primarily for his portraits.

Biography

His father was the architect, sculptor and painter, Pierre Puget. After a scandal involving the Finance Minister

Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (; 27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous weal ...

, in 1661, his father decided to stay in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, where he had been working. Two years later, he and his mother Paule followed, and that is where he grew up. The author, Joseph Bougerel (1680-1753), believed that he was briefly a student of

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (baptized 23 March 16095 May 1664) was an Italian Baroque painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school (painting), Genoese school. He is best known now for his etchings, and as the inventor of the printm ...

, but this has been recently questioned by Marie-Christine Gloton of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

.Marie-Christine Gloton, ''Pierre & François Puget: Peintres baroques'', Édisud, 1985 In 1668, the family returned to Toulon and his father became the manager of the sculpture workshop at the

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He married Jeanne Jourdanis in 1677 and they had three children together. In 1679, it appears that he followed his father to Marseille, as in 1680 he is known to have created a painting for the convent of the

Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (), abbreviated VSM and also known as the Visitandines, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women. Members of the order are also known as the Salesian Sisters (not to be ...

, depicting that event. At the same time, he painted his "Portrait of a Seated Man". Both works are now at the Musée des beaux-arts de Marseille. He then decided to stay there to assist his aging father. Between 1683 and 1688, he visited Paris three times to present his father's works to King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. He became a widower in 1691, but soon remarried; to Geneviève Mazerat, the daughter of a former (a type of

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

) and a relative of his father's second wife. That same year he became "Peintre Ordinaire du Roi". He seems also to have become the official artist for the city of Marseille, as he created portraits of numerous city office holders from 1697 to 1706. He also had some talents as an architect. After his father's death in 1694, he assumed responsibility for completing the chapel of La Vieille Charité; especially the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

of the dome.Jean-Jacques Gloton, "Le problème de la chapelle", in:''La vieille charité de Marseille'', Arts et livres de Provence, bulletin N° 75, 1970 p.55 Other notable works include the "Meeting of Musicians", which was a gift to Louis XIV. It was long believed to be a portrayal of

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

and

Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault (; 3 June 1635 – 26 November 1688) was a French dramatist and librettist. Biography Quinault was born in Paris. He was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of ''Marianne''. Quinault's fi ...

, but the musicians pictured were actually friends of the Puget family. He also did at least one, and possibly two portraits of his father, c.1692. All of these are in the

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 ...

. Several works that were originally attributed to his father have since been identified as his.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puget, Francois 1651 births 1707 deaths French portrait painters French Baroque painters Artists from Toulon Painters from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Painters from Marseille

Biography

References

Further reading

External links