Simon Jacques Rochard (28 December 1788 – 10 June 1872) was a painter of

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

s in France, England and Brussels in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was born in Paris to René Rochard and Marie Madeleine Talon. He showed early talent and, after his father died, helped support his mother and eleven siblings by drawing portraits. Rochard studied under

Étienne Aubry Étienne Aubry (1746–1781) was a French painter. He was born in Versailles (city), Versailles. He studied under J. A. Silvestre and Joseph-Marie Vien, Joseph Vien, and soon became noted for his portraits and Genre works, genre subjects. Aubry exh ...

and at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

. He also studied miniature-painting from Emilie Bounieu (daughter of

Michel Honoré Bounieu Michel Honoré Bounieu (1740–1814) was a French painter of historical and genre subjects, and a mezzotint engraver. Life Bounieu was born at Marseilles in 1740. He was a pupil of Pierre, and became a member of the Academy at Paris in 1767. He ...

). At only twenty he painted a portrait of the

Empress Joséphine The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rule ...

for

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and later other portraits of the imperial family. After Napoleon's return from Elba in 1815, he was drafted into the army but deserted and went to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. There he received commissions to paint miniatures including at least one of the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

leader of the forces opposing Napoleon. Shortly after he moved to London and became very popular, painting numerous miniatures of members of the upper class such as

Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to: People * Charlotte of the United Kingdom (disambiguation), various princesses ** Princess Charlotte of Wales (born 2015), granddaughter of King Charles III and only daughter of William, Prince of Wales * Charlott ...

. He exhibited mostly at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

from 1816 to 1845. This lists the works displayed at the Royal Academy. In 1846, he moved to Brussels where he exhibited at the Salon there until 1869. He also exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

in 1852 and the International Exposition of 1867 in Paris. He died in 1872.

Marriage and family

His first marriage to Henriette Petitjean ended in a separation but left Rochard with a daughter, Eugenie, born in 1814, who married an English officer. At the age of 80 (circa 1868) he married Henriette Pilton, by whom he had one son. (However his son, Jean Simon Rochard, was apparently born before 1856.) His younger brother, François Theodore Rochard (1798–1857), joined him in London around 1820. He was also a popular portrait painter specializing in miniatures and in water colors and won two silver medals from the new

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

in 1823. He retired after his marriage in 1850 and died on 31 October 1857 in London.

Gallery of Rochard Paintings

Most of these are miniatures. Augustus d'Este young.jpg,

Augustus Frederick d'Este Sir Augustus Frederick d'Este, KCH (13 January 1794 – 28 December 1848) was the only son of Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex and his wife Lady Augusta Murray. He was a grandson of George III, nephew of George IV and William ...

Simon Jacques Rochard - Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane - B1974.2.88 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg,

Thomas Brisbane Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir Thomas MacDougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke ...

(painted 1819) Lady Smith and Her Children MET DP808089.jpg, Lady Smith and her children (painted ?1824) Леонор Мериме.jpg,

Léonor Mérimée Jean-François Léonor Mérimée (16 September 1757, Broglie, Eure, Broglie - 26 September 1836, Paris) was a French writer, painter and chemist, specializing in pigment color in painting and decorative art. He was the father of the famous aut ...

(painted 1828) Harriet Ann Rooke, m. Kingston (1788-1860) (Simon Jacques Rochard) - Nationalmuseum - 133104.tif, Harriet Ann Rooke, wife of John Kingston (painted circa 1830) Frederick William Robert Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry, 1805-1872 (Simon Jacques Rochard) - Nationalmuseum - 158558.tif,

Frederick Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry Frederick William Robert Stewart, 4th Marquess of Londonderry (7 July 1805–25 November 1872), styled Viscount Castlereagh from 1822 to 1854, was a British nobleman and Tory politician. He was briefly Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under S ...

(painted 1833) EarlOfAuckland.JPG, George Eden (painted 1835) Emily Eden.jpg,

Emily Eden Emily Eden (3 March 1797 – 5 August 1869) was an English poet and novelist who gave witty accounts of life in the 19th century. She wrote a celebrated account of her travels in India, and two novels that sold well. She was also an accomplishe ...

(George Eden's sister) with her spaniel, Chance (painted 1835) Okänd man (Simon Jacques Rochard) - Nationalmuseum - 149995.tif, Unknown man (painted 1836) Prosper Merimee2.jpg,

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...

(painted 1852) Simon-Jacques Rochard - Gertrude Anne Barnardiston Yates - Google Art Project.jpg, Gertrude Ann Barnardiston Yates (painted 1853)

External links

*, a portrait by François Theodore Rochard, for Heath's Book of Beauty, 1836, engraved by H.Cook, with illustrative verse by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

. *, by François Theodore Rochard, engraved by T. Hollis for The Cabinet of Modern Art, 1837, with a poetical illustration by

* by François Theodore Rochard, engraved by Henry Cook for Heath's Book of Beauty, 1838, with a poetical illustration by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochard, Simon 1788 births 1872 deaths 19th-century French painters Painters from Paris French portrait miniaturists École des Beaux-Arts alumni French male painters 19th-century French male artists