Guillaume Coustou the Younger
Encyclopedia
Guillaume Coustou the Younger (March 19, 1716 – July 13, 1777) was a French sculptor.
The son of Guillaume Coustou the Elder
and nephew of Nicolas Coustou
, he trained in the family atelier and studied at the French Academy in Rome
, 1736–39, as winner of the Prix de Rome (1735). He returned to Paris, where he completed the famous "Horse Tamers" (Chevaux de Marly) commissioned from his father in 1739 for Marly
, when the elder Coustou was too infirm to actively carry out the commissions. They were completed and installed in 1745. He was accepted at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (1742) and pursued a successful official career, working fluently in styles that ranged from the Late Baroque of his morceau de réception, a Seated Vulcan (illustrated) to the sentimental early neoclassicism
of the Ganymede, whose affinities with Roman sculptures of Antinous
have been suggested by Michael Worley. He produced portrait busts as well as his religious and mythological subjects.
His most prominent and ambitious official commission was the Monument to the Dauphin for the cathedral of Sens. The elaborate iconography of its somewhat overcharged design was worked up by the artist and connoisseur Charles-Nicolas Cochin
.
His pupils included two minor neoclassical sculptors, Claude Dejoux and Pierre Julien
, who were fellow pupils in the 1760s and went on to collaborate on sculptural projects and the young Danish sculptor Johannes Widewelt, who was placed in his workshop through the offices of the secretary of the Danish legation, and picked up some of Coustou's clarity and his language of rhetorical gesture.
The son of Guillaume Coustou the Elder
Guillaume Coustou the Elder
Guillaume Coustou the Elder was a French sculptor and academician. Coustou was the younger brother of French sculptor Nicolas Coustou and the pupil of his mother's brother, Antoine Coysevox...
and nephew of Nicolas Coustou
Nicolas Coustou
Nicolas Coustou was a French sculptor and academic.Born in Lyon, Coustou was the son of a woodcarver, who gave him his first instruction in art. At eighteen he moved to Paris, to study under C.A...
, he trained in the family atelier and studied at the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
, 1736–39, as winner of the Prix de Rome (1735). He returned to Paris, where he completed the famous "Horse Tamers" (Chevaux de Marly) commissioned from his father in 1739 for Marly
Château de Marly
The Château de Marly was a relatively small French royal residence located in what has become Marly-le-Roi, the commune that existed at the edge of the royal park. The town that originally grew up to service the château is now a dormitory community for Paris....
, when the elder Coustou was too infirm to actively carry out the commissions. They were completed and installed in 1745. He was accepted at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (1742) and pursued a successful official career, working fluently in styles that ranged from the Late Baroque of his morceau de réception, a Seated Vulcan (illustrated) to the sentimental early neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
of the Ganymede, whose affinities with Roman sculptures of Antinous
Antinous
Antinoüs or Antinoös was a beautiful Bithynian youth and the favourite of the Roman emperor Hadrian...
have been suggested by Michael Worley. He produced portrait busts as well as his religious and mythological subjects.
His most prominent and ambitious official commission was the Monument to the Dauphin for the cathedral of Sens. The elaborate iconography of its somewhat overcharged design was worked up by the artist and connoisseur Charles-Nicolas Cochin
Charles-Nicolas Cochin
Charles-Nicolas Cochin was a French engraver, designer, writer, and art critic. To distinguish him from his father of the same name, he is variously called Charles-Nicolas Cochin le Jeune , Charles-Nicolas Cochin le fils , or Charles-Nicolas Cochin II.-Early life:Cochin was born in Paris, the son of...
.
His pupils included two minor neoclassical sculptors, Claude Dejoux and Pierre Julien
Pierre Julien
Pierre Julien was a French sculptor who worked in a full range of rococo and neoclassical styles.He served an early apprenticeship at Le Puy-en-Velay, near his natal village of Saint-Paulien, then at the École de dessin of Lyon, then entered the Parisian atelier of Guillaume Coustou the Younger...
, who were fellow pupils in the 1760s and went on to collaborate on sculptural projects and the young Danish sculptor Johannes Widewelt, who was placed in his workshop through the offices of the secretary of the Danish legation, and picked up some of Coustou's clarity and his language of rhetorical gesture.
Works
- Apotheosis of St Francis Xavier (marble, c. 1743) Bordeaux, Church of St Paul)
- Apollo (marble, 1753) commissioned by Mme de Pompadour for the park at the château de BellevueChâteau de BellevueThe Château de Bellevue was a small château built for Madame de Pompadour in 1750. It was constructed on a broad plateau in Meudon, above a slope overlooking the Seine to the east, but was demolished in 1823 and little remains....
(at VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
) - Mars and Venus (marble, 1769) for Frederick II of PrussiaFrederick II of PrussiaFrederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
at Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam - Pediment sculptures, (limestone, 1753 onwards) executed with Michelange SlodtzRené-Michel SlodtzRené-Michel Slodtz or Michelangelo and in France, Michel-Ange Slodtz was a French sculptor working in a Rococo style, and active mainly in Rome and Paris, and for the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi....
for Ange-Jacques GabrielAnge-Jacques GabrielAnge-Jacques Gabriel was the most prominent French architect of his generation.Born to a Parisian family of architects and initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father , whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale at Bordeaux , the younger Gabriel...
’s twin hôtels (from 1753) on the Place de la ConcordePlace de la ConcordeThe Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :... - Ganymede (marble, ca 1760 (Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
) - Funeral Monument to the Dauphin, (free-standing marble and bronze, 1766–77), Sens Cathedral
External links
- Short biography at artnet, from The Grove Dictionary of ArtGrove Dictionary of ArtGrove Art Online, formerly The Dictionary of Art but usually known as The Grove Dictionary of Art, is a large encyclopedia of art, now part of the online reference publications of Oxford University Press, and previously a 34-volume printed encyclopedia when last published on paper in 1996...