Laurent Cars
Encyclopedia
Laurent Cars was a French designer and engraver
, born at Lyon
s in 1699. He was the son of Jean-François Cars
, who took him when quite
young to Paris, where it was not long before he distinguished himself. In 1733 he was received as an Academician
upon his portraits of Michel Anguier
and Sébastien Bourdon
. Cars, who was the master of Beauvarlet
, may be considered as one of the best French engravers of the 18th century, in the kind of subjects he selected. He died in Paris in 1771. His best plates are those engraved after Lemoyne
, particularly that of 'Hercules and Omphale,' and the series of illustrations after Boucher
's designs to the Comedies of Molière
, and after Oudry
to the Fables of La Fontaine
. His work is extensive; the following are his principal plates:
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
, born at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s in 1699. He was the son of Jean-François Cars
Jean-François Cars
Jean-François Cars was a French engraver, born at Lyons in 1670. His father, François Cars, was an engraver of no great repute, to whom we owe a portrait of Joseph Tobias Franc, drawn in 1681. Jean François worked at Lyons for some years, but eventually repaired to Paris, where he died in 1739...
, who took him when quite
young to Paris, where it was not long before he distinguished himself. In 1733 he was received as an Academician
Académie 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...
upon his portraits of Michel Anguier
François and Michel Anguier
The brothers François Anguier and Michel Anguier were French sculptors, natives of Eu in Normandy.Their apprenticeship was served in the studio of Simon Guillain...
and Sébastien Bourdon
Sébastien Bourdon
Sébastien Bourdon was a French painter and engraver. His chef d'œuvre is The Crucifixion of St. Peter made for the cathedral of Notre Dame....
. Cars, who was the master of Beauvarlet
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet, a celebrated engraver, was born at Abbeville in 1731. He went to Paris when young, and was instructed in the art by Charles Dupuis and Laurent Cars...
, may be considered as one of the best French engravers of the 18th century, in the kind of subjects he selected. He died in Paris in 1771. His best plates are those engraved after Lemoyne
François Lemoyne
François Lemoyne or François Le Moine was a French rococo painter.He was born in Paris. In 1701, when he was 13 years old, he entered the Académie de peinture et de sculpture. He studied under Louis Galloche and stayed until 1713. In 1711, Lemoyne won the Prix de Rome...
, particularly that of 'Hercules and Omphale,' and the series of illustrations after Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
's designs to the Comedies of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
, and after Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:...
to the Fables of La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
. His work is extensive; the following are his principal plates:
Portraits
- Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis 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...
, an allegorical portrait; after Lemoyne. - Louis XV, an allegorical subject; after Boucher.
- Stanislaus, King of Poland; after van LooVan LooThe French Van Loo family included a number of notable painters:*Jacob van Loo *Jean-Baptiste van Loo .*Charles-André van Loo , brother of Jean-Baptiste....
. - Michel Anguier, sculptor; after RevelGabriel RevelGabriel Revel was a French painter.-Life:He was born in Château-Thierry, in a family of artists. He went to Paris, probably on the advice of Jean de La Fontaine. He joined the group of decorative artists working for Louis XIV, including François Verdier, Claude II Audran et François Bonnemer, on...
. - Cardinal Armand Gaston de RohanArmand Gaston Maximilien de RohanArmand de Rohan was a French churchman and politician. He became bishop of Strasbourg in 1704, Cardinal in 1712 then grand almoner of France in 1713 and member of the regency council in 1722....
; after RigaudHyacinthe RigaudHyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period...
. - Marie Leszczinska, Queen of France; after Van LooJean-Baptiste van LooJean-Baptiste van Loo was a French subject and portrait painter.-Biography:He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo...
. - François Boucher, painter; after Cochin, filsCharles-Nicolas CochinCharles-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...
. - Jean Baptiste ChardinJean-Baptiste-Siméon ChardinJean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities...
, painter; after the same. - Madame Chardin; after the same.
- Mlle. Camargo, dancing; after LancretNicolas LancretNicolas Lancret , French painter, was born in Paris, and became a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society under the regent Orleans....
. - Mlle. ClaironLa ClaironLa Clairon , French actress, whose real name was Clair Josèphe Hippolyte Leris, was born at Condé-sur-l'Escaut, Hainaut, the daughter of an army sergeant....
, in the part of Medea.
Subjects after various masters
- The Adoration of the Shepherds; after Van Loo.
- The Flight into Egypt; after the same.
- Bathsheba at the Bath; after De TroyJean François de TroyJean François de Troy was a French Rococo painter and tapestry designer. He was one of a family of painters, being the son of the portrait painter François de Troy , under whom he first studied, and at whose expense he first went to Italy from 1699 to 1706, staying in Rome, but also visiting many...
. - Susannah and the Elders; after the same.
- Adam and Eve in Paradise; after Lemoyne.
- Hercules and Omphale; after the same.
- Perseus and Andromeda; after the same.
- The Sacrifice of Iphigenia; after the same.
- Hercules and Cacus; after the same.
- Iris at the Bath; after the same. (pictured)
- Cephalus and Aurora; after the same.
- The Rape of Europa; after the same.
- Time discovering Truth; after the same.
- Monument in honour of the Duke of Marlborough.
- Silence; after GreuzeJean-Baptiste GreuzeJean-Baptiste Greuze was a French painter.-Early life:He was born at Tournus, Saône-et-Loire. He is generally said to have formed his own talent; this is, however, true only in the most limited sense, for at an early age his inclinations, though thwarted by his father, were encouraged by a...
. - L'Aveugle trompé, after the same.
- The Fortune-teller; after WatteauAntoine WatteauJean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement...
. - The Venetian Festival; after the same.
- A Convoy of Equipages; after the same.