Jacques Saly
Encyclopedia
Jacques François Joseph Saly, also known as Jacques Saly (20 June 1717 – 4 May 1776), French-born sculptor who worked in France
, Denmark
, and Italy
, was born in Valenciennes
to Francois Marie Saly and wife Marie Michelle.
, winning medals in 1734, 1737 and 1738.
Winning that last medal, first place in the gold medallion competition, gave him the right to study at the French Academy in Rome (l´Academie de France á Rome). He first received his stipend in 1740, and he arrived in Rome on 13 October 1740. He stayed there for eight years between 1740–1748, and lived at the Academy. The goal here was that through the study of antiquities and the masters of the past, one would develop and refine ones artistic taste. More practically it meant making marble copies of these for the French king.
In 1742 he made a monumental portrait bust of Emanuel Pinto de Fonseca, Grand Master of the Order of the Maltese Cross
. In 1744 he made a bust of a little girl which is one of the most reproduced sculptures from the 18th century.
He became one of the first French members of the Accademia degli Arcadi in Rome 1744, and of the Florence Academy in 1748, and of the Academy in Bologna.
He had close relations with Giovanni Battista Piranesi
.
, Florence
and Bologna
, and arrived back in Valenciennes in the beginning of March 1749. The works he had sent home had received such attention that his hometown commissioned a full standing portrait of King Louis XV
from him. The marble statue was erected in 1752, and destroyed in 1792. A plaster bust of Louis XV was also made that same year.
He went on to Paris, where he became a member of the Paris Art Academy in 1751 with his work "A Fawn with a Kid". He was assistant professor at the Paris Academy 1751-1753. He exhibited at the Paris Salon 1750-1751, 1753.
He created a plaster bust of Madame de Pompadour
in 1752, and a statue of Amor
for her the next year.
on horseback to be placed in the center of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace
. The equestrian statue was commissioned by Adam Gottlob Moltke
, head of the Danish Asiatic Company
, as a gift to the king. But while Moltke’s company offered to finance the statue, it was the government, however, who chose the sculptor. Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff wrote to the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris Justitsråd Joachim Wasserschlebe to find a suitable French sculptor.
Sculptor Edmé Bouchardon rejected the offer, but suggested Saly, who wanted a significant sum for the model and free housing in Copenhagen
. The government concluded the contract with Saly in Spring 1752, but due to conflict with ongoing projects Saly did not arrive in Denmark until 8 October 1753, bringing with him his parents, his two sisters and at least one assistant, Journée, along with his family.
Work began on the monument that same year.
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) was officially established with offices at Charlottenborg on Frederik V’s birthday, 31 March 1754. Saly held the main speech at the event, a snub against the current Academy Director architect Nicolai Eigtved
. Saly was made member of the Academy; was named professor, and received a residence at Charlottenborg. Several months later after Eigtved died suddenly on 7 July 1754, Saly was named Eigtved’s successor to the position. He served as Director of the Academy from 25 July 1754 to 15 July 1771, and he was given a lifelong yearly pension in 1760.
Saly worked hard to improve the Danish Academy after the model of the French Academy. He sought to bring about these changes, all the while working on his model of the equestrian statue for the king, the primary artistic work associated with his many years in Denmark.
Saly was also instrumental in bringing his friend from the French Academy and the years in Italy, countryman and architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin
to the attention of King Frederik V
as the suitable choice to replace Nicolai Eigtved
for the design and building of Frederik's Church
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken), work on which had had begun in 1749. A contract to bring Jardin to Denmark was concluded on 12 October 1754, a few months after Eigtved’s death, and Jardin took over Eigtved's professorship at the Academy.
.
Saly also sculpted around this same time a life-size bust of the king, of which seven bronze casts were created, and a sculpture of Moltke, the head of the Asiatic Company, of which three bronze casts were created.
Saly, after having set up an appropriate studio, carried out the work on the large model of the equestrian statue 1761-1763, and the plaster cast was presented to the Academy members on 3 February 1764. The king also saw this model. Preparations for the bronze casting took four more years, and Frenchman Pierre Gors did the casting on 2 March 1768. 1768 is officially considered the statue’s completion date.
Johann Marin Preissler made a large engraving of the equestrian statue 1768-1769 in commemoration of its completion, and The Danish Asiatic Company forged two medallions, one by Wulff and the other by Daniel Jensen Adzer.
The base for the statue, however, was first deliverable in 1770, and the unveiling of the equestrian statue finally took place in the courtyard at Amalienborg Palace on 1 August 1771, five years after the King’s death in 1766. It commands the site still to this day, and has been restored 1997-1998.
,
Saly was named Knight of the Order of St Michel in Paris, but was not allowed to bear the title while living in Denmark.
Saly, although no longer Director of the Academy, kept the apartment at Charlottenborg, from 1771 to at least 1774. During this time he tried to justify an additional sum from the Danish Asiatic Company for his extraordinary services on the monument to Frederik V, considering how much longer the statue took to complete than originally planned. He was not satisfied with the conclusion of his financial negotiations.
Back in Paris in 1775 he could now bear the title of Knight. He was named Senior Professor at the French Academy in Paris 29 July 1775. Already seriously ill when he left Denmark, he died on 4 May 1776. He had never married.
In addition to the other Academy memberships already mentioned, Saly was also member of the academies in Marseilles (1762) and St. Petersburg (1768).
His sculptures are in the collections of such museums as Statens museum for Kunst (Copenhagen), National Gallery of Art
(Washington D.C., USA), Musée du Louvre (Paris), Musée des Beaux-Arts (Valenciennes, France) J. Paul Getty Museum
(Los Angeles, California, USA), as well as in private collections.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, was born in Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
to Francois Marie Saly and wife Marie Michelle.
Training as a sculptor and early career
He began his training as a sculptor at nine years of age under local master Antoine Gilles in Velenciennes from 1726-1727. In spite of his parents' meager income, he was sent to Paris in 1732 to train in the studio of sculptor Guillaume Coustou. At the same time he attended the French Academy of Art, the Académie royale de peinture et de sculptureAcadémie de peinture et de sculpture
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture , Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples, such as the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Paris already had the Académie de Saint-Luc, which was a city artist guild like any other Guild of Saint Luke...
, winning medals in 1734, 1737 and 1738.
Winning that last medal, first place in the gold medallion competition, gave him the right to study at the French Academy in Rome (l´Academie de France á Rome). He first received his stipend in 1740, and he arrived in Rome on 13 October 1740. He stayed there for eight years between 1740–1748, and lived at the Academy. The goal here was that through the study of antiquities and the masters of the past, one would develop and refine ones artistic taste. More practically it meant making marble copies of these for the French king.
In 1742 he made a monumental portrait bust of Emanuel Pinto de Fonseca, Grand Master of the Order of the Maltese Cross
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. In 1744 he made a bust of a little girl which is one of the most reproduced sculptures from the 18th century.
He became one of the first French members of the Accademia degli Arcadi in Rome 1744, and of the Florence Academy in 1748, and of the Academy in Bologna.
He had close relations with Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...
.
Return to Paris
He traveled back to his home via NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, and arrived back in Valenciennes in the beginning of March 1749. The works he had sent home had received such attention that his hometown commissioned a full standing portrait of King Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
from him. The marble statue was erected in 1752, and destroyed in 1792. A plaster bust of Louis XV was also made that same year.
He went on to Paris, where he became a member of the Paris Art Academy in 1751 with his work "A Fawn with a Kid". He was assistant professor at the Paris Academy 1751-1753. He exhibited at the Paris Salon 1750-1751, 1753.
He created a plaster bust of Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
in 1752, and a statue of Amor
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
for her the next year.
Summons to Denmark
In 1752 Saly was commissioned to create a sculpture of King Frederick V of DenmarkFrederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
on horseback to be placed in the center of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace
Amalienborg Palace
Amalienborg Palace is the winter home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard ; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's...
. The equestrian statue was commissioned by Adam Gottlob Moltke
Adam Gottlob Moltke
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke , Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg.-Early life:...
, head of the Danish Asiatic Company
Danish East India Company
The Danish East India Company was a Danish chartered company.-History:It was founded in 1616, following a privilege of Danish King Christian IV....
, as a gift to the king. But while Moltke’s company offered to finance the statue, it was the government, however, who chose the sculptor. Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff wrote to the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris Justitsråd Joachim Wasserschlebe to find a suitable French sculptor.
Sculptor Edmé Bouchardon rejected the offer, but suggested Saly, who wanted a significant sum for the model and free housing in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. The government concluded the contract with Saly in Spring 1752, but due to conflict with ongoing projects Saly did not arrive in Denmark until 8 October 1753, bringing with him his parents, his two sisters and at least one assistant, Journée, along with his family.
Work began on the monument that same year.
In Copenhagen: The Academy
During the same period of time the Royal Danish Academy of ArtRoyal Danish Academy of Art
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has provided a practice-oriented complement to the scholarly investigation of the arts carried out at Danish universities for more than 250 years, playing a crucial part in the development of the distinctive tradition of the art of Denmark.- History :The Royal...
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) was officially established with offices at Charlottenborg on Frederik V’s birthday, 31 March 1754. Saly held the main speech at the event, a snub against the current Academy Director architect Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
. Saly was made member of the Academy; was named professor, and received a residence at Charlottenborg. Several months later after Eigtved died suddenly on 7 July 1754, Saly was named Eigtved’s successor to the position. He served as Director of the Academy from 25 July 1754 to 15 July 1771, and he was given a lifelong yearly pension in 1760.
Saly worked hard to improve the Danish Academy after the model of the French Academy. He sought to bring about these changes, all the while working on his model of the equestrian statue for the king, the primary artistic work associated with his many years in Denmark.
Saly was also instrumental in bringing his friend from the French Academy and the years in Italy, countryman and architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin
Nicolas-Henri Jardin
Nicolas-Henri Jardin , neoclassical architect, was born in St. Germain des Noyers, Dept. Seine-et-Marne, France, and worked seventeen years in Denmark as an architect to the royal court...
to the attention of King Frederik V
Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
as the suitable choice to replace Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
for the design and building of Frederik's Church
Frederik's Church
Frederick's Church , popularly known as The Marble Church is a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of Amalienborg Palace....
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken), work on which had had begun in 1749. A contract to bring Jardin to Denmark was concluded on 12 October 1754, a few months after Eigtved’s death, and Jardin took over Eigtved's professorship at the Academy.
In Copenhagen: The King and his statue
Saly showed the king the first sketch of the equestrian statue on 4 December 1754. The king approved a sketch for the whole monument in August 1755. Then Saly began a thorough study of horses from the king’s stalls. This resulted in a little model, which he showed the king in November 1758. Casts of this model are found in both the collection of the Academy and the State Collection, now the Danish National GalleryStatens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....
.
Saly also sculpted around this same time a life-size bust of the king, of which seven bronze casts were created, and a sculpture of Moltke, the head of the Asiatic Company, of which three bronze casts were created.
Saly, after having set up an appropriate studio, carried out the work on the large model of the equestrian statue 1761-1763, and the plaster cast was presented to the Academy members on 3 February 1764. The king also saw this model. Preparations for the bronze casting took four more years, and Frenchman Pierre Gors did the casting on 2 March 1768. 1768 is officially considered the statue’s completion date.
Johann Marin Preissler made a large engraving of the equestrian statue 1768-1769 in commemoration of its completion, and The Danish Asiatic Company forged two medallions, one by Wulff and the other by Daniel Jensen Adzer.
The base for the statue, however, was first deliverable in 1770, and the unveiling of the equestrian statue finally took place in the courtyard at Amalienborg Palace on 1 August 1771, five years after the King’s death in 1766. It commands the site still to this day, and has been restored 1997-1998.
The end of his days in Copenhagen
Saly held the post of Academy Director until 15 July 1771, two weeks before the equestrian statue’s unveiling. He quit in protest over a new set of rules that gave increased influence to native-born Danes. This all occurred during the oppressive reign of Johann Friedrich StruenseeJohann Friedrich Struensee
Count Johann Friedrich Struensee was a German doctor. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of “de facto” regent of the country, where he tried to carry out widespread reforms...
,
Saly was named Knight of the Order of St Michel in Paris, but was not allowed to bear the title while living in Denmark.
Saly, although no longer Director of the Academy, kept the apartment at Charlottenborg, from 1771 to at least 1774. During this time he tried to justify an additional sum from the Danish Asiatic Company for his extraordinary services on the monument to Frederik V, considering how much longer the statue took to complete than originally planned. He was not satisfied with the conclusion of his financial negotiations.
Return to Paris again
He left for Paris along with his father on 2 July 1744; most of the other family members had died by this point. One of his two sisters had married a French sea officer in Danish service.Back in Paris in 1775 he could now bear the title of Knight. He was named Senior Professor at the French Academy in Paris 29 July 1775. Already seriously ill when he left Denmark, he died on 4 May 1776. He had never married.
Legacy
His artistic achievements are overshadowed by the monumental effort to create the equestrian statue of Frederik V of Denmark under the king’s absolute rule. Saly’s leading role at the Danish Academy of Art, during its early years helped establish the Academy as a force in art training not only in Scandinavia, but in Europe, and led the way to an emerging and strong Danish artist tradition..In addition to the other Academy memberships already mentioned, Saly was also member of the academies in Marseilles (1762) and St. Petersburg (1768).
His sculptures are in the collections of such museums as Statens museum for Kunst (Copenhagen), National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
(Washington D.C., USA), Musée du Louvre (Paris), Musée des Beaux-Arts (Valenciennes, France) J. Paul Getty Museum
Getty Center
The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...
(Los Angeles, California, USA), as well as in private collections.