Jean Raon (4 July 1630 – 4 April 1707) was a French sculptor who worked mainly for

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 ...

. He is best known for his sculptures placed in the

Gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles ( ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the Palace of Versailles, château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles, palace, the gardens cover so ...

, although he also produced bas-reliefs and pediments.

Life

Jean Raon, the son of a master mason, was born in Paris, and first trained by his father; in 1666 he went to Rome to study art as a boarder at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...

at the King's expense, in the new study abroad programme supported by 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, ...

. After studying Roman antiquities for three years, he returned to France to work at

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 ...

. Raon would be continuously employed by Louis XIV to work on

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

's major programme of sculpture, architecture and landscaping until 1699. He worked not only at Versailles but also at the royal buildings at Clagny, Marly and

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

, as well as at the church of the

Hôtel des Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...

. Raon was accepted as a member of the

Académie Royale 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 g ...

on 26 March 1672 with ''St Luke'', a marble low relief, and received the title of professor at the Academy in 1690. He exhibited at the Salon of the Académie in 1673 and 1679."Raon, Jean". (2011). ''Benezit''. n.p. In his last years he divided his time between teaching and sculpting for the royal residences.

Works

Raon's works include: ''Apollo'' at the museum of Versailles; ''St Luke'' for a chapel in Notre-Dame, Versailles; ''Winter'' in the Tuileries gardens; ''Vigilance'' and ''Diligence'', stone statues for the façade of the palace of Versailles and, on the exterior of its chapel, ''Group of Children Carrying the Emblems for the Catholic Mass'', as well as a marble vase decorated with vine branches and two female heads crowned with ivy for the park; ''Nymph Leaning on an Urn of Flowers'' and ''Near Her, a Lover Holding a Quiver'', a marble group for the palace of Versailles and for the grounds of the château, ''Lion Attacking a Boar'', two groups of nymphs, ''Arion'', ''Night'' and ''Bacchus''.

Son

Jean Melchior Raon (1669 – 27 December 1719) was the son of Jean Raon. He was also a sculptor and worked on the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

in the palace of Versailles and at Notre-Dame in Paris."Raon, Jean Melchior". (2011). ''Benezit''. n.p.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Jal, Auguste, ed. (1872)
"Raon (Jean), (Jean-Melchior)"
In ''Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire: errata et supplément pour tous les dictionnaires historiques''. 2e édition corrigée et augmentée d'articles nouveaux. Paris: H. Plon. p. 1042.
"Raon, Jean"
(2011). ''

Benezit Dictionary of Artists The ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists'' (in French, ''Bénézit: Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs'') is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers create ...

.''

Oxford Art Online Oxford Art Online is an Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press ...

. Accessed 29 January 2022.
"Raon, Jean Melchior"
(2011). ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists''. Oxford Art Online. Accessed 17 March 2022.
"Jean Raon"
(2015). ''The J. Paul Getty Museum.'' Accessed 29 January 2022.
"Raon, Jean"
(2017). ''Joconde: Portail des collections des musées de France''. Accessed 29 January 2022.

External links

''EUTouring.com'', n.d. {{DEFAULTSORT:Raon, Jean 1630s births 1707 deaths 17th-century French sculptors People from the Province of Île-de-France