Louis Jean François Lagrenée

One of the great masters of French Rococo painting was Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée. Born in Paris in 1724, he attracted attention at an early age as a highly talented painter and draughtsman. He took part in a public art course run by the Académie Francaise, which was open to everyone for a small fee. The six best young students were awarded a scholarship for a three-year course of study called "École royale des élèves protégés". It was intended to prepare the young talents for participation in the prestigious Prix de Rome. Lagrenée was taught by Charles André van Loo, who himself specialized in multi-figure mythological scenes. Lagrenée was a learned pupil: in 1749 he won the Rome Prize for the painting "Joseph Explains the Dreams of the Pharaoh", which is lost today. Gracefully composed, aesthetically masterfully staged figure scenes were to become his trademark from then on. In Rome he became acquainted with the painting of the Bolognese School, especially Guido Reni and Francesco Albani inspired him.

After his return from Rome in 1753, Lagrenée worked on the large-scale painting "Abduction of Deianeira by the centurion Nessus". The work shows a great dynamism and drama: it presents the centaur as a raw, yet powerfully handsome man, who grabs the bare-breasted beauty in a flash. Effectively fluttering pink fabrics underline the artificiality of this mythological scene. The picture appealed to the learned world of the Rococo: Lagrenée was accepted into the Académie de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1755. This work can still be admired in the Louvre today. Lagrenée became a celebrity, famous clients and patrons came to his studio. Again and again he supplied the Parisian salon with paintings that were celebrated. Finally, foreign rulers also became aware of the young Frenchman: Elisabeth Petrovna, the Empress of Russia appointed him her preferred court painter in 1760. He also became director of the St. Petersburg Academy. Lagrenée was at the height of his fame.

He couldn't stand it in Russia for long. Only two years later he returned to Paris, for he was appointed rector of the Académie Royale. But perhaps the French savoir vivre was more to his liking than the cool majestic splendour of the Russian Tsar's court. Now he created some of his most famous works: he created graceful nudes in gentle incarnation, for example when he conjured "Venus and the Bathing Nymphs" or the "Ascending Aurora" onto the canvas. In the 1780s, in his capacity as director of the academy, he once again stayed in Rome, at the Villa Medici. In the turmoil of the French Revolution he managed to keep his post. When monarchical aesthetics were once again honoured in the times of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Lagrenée was appointed by him as a knight of the Legion d'Honneur. He died in 1805 at the age of 80.

Louis Jean François Lagrenée

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The most popular works of Louis Jean François Lagrenée

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