Juste-Aurèle Meissonier (1695 – 31 July 1750) was a French

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, and furniture designer. He was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

, but became known as a worker in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, where he died. His Italian origin and training were probably responsible for the extravagance of his decorative style. He shared, and perhaps distanced, the meretricious triumphs of Oppenord and

Germain Germain may refer to: * Germain (name), including a list of people with the name * Germain Arena, the former name of an arena in Estero, Florida * Germain Racing, a NASCAR racing team * Germain Amphitheater, a concert venue in Columbus, Ohio *Pari ...

, since he dealt with the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

in its most daring and flamboyant developments. Rarely does he leave a foot or two of undecorated space; Meissonier carried the style of his day to its extreme and thus achieved great popularity. Like the Scottish brothers

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

at a later day he not only as architect built houses, but as painter and decorator covered their internal walls; he designed the furniture and the candlesticks, the silver and the decanters for the table; he was as ready to produce a snuff-box as a watch case or a sword hilt. Not only in France, but for the nobility of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

and other countries who took their fashions and their taste from Paris, he made designs. His work in gold and silver-plate was often graceful and sometimes bold and original. His furniture features strong rocaille elements. He was appointed by

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

''Dessinateur de la chambre et du cabinet du roi''; the post of designer ''pour les pompes funèbres et galantes'' was also held along with that of ''Orfèvre du roi''. For our knowledge of his work we are considerably indebted to his own books of design: ''Livres d'ornements en trente pièces'' and ''Ornements de la carte chronologique''. His works are held in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier , People , Collection of Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meissonier, Juste 18th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 18th-century French painters French male painters 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Artists from Turin French furniture designers French goldsmiths 1695 births 1750 deaths 18th-century French male artists 18th-century Italian male artists