Nicolas Ozanne
Encyclopedia
Nicolas-Marie Ozanne was a marine artist, author of a naval treatise and creator of a series of 60 views of the ports of France. His work witnesses to the French Navy of his time, particularly the Ponant fleet
Ponant fleet
The Ponant fleet was the overall term for the naval forces of the royal French navy under the Ancien Régime designated to communicating with the New World in general and protecting the maritime routes between there and France...

.

Life

Ozanne was born in Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

. His drawing skills were recognised at a very early age and aged only 10 he was given a place in the studio of Robelin, a drawing master in the gardes de la marine
Gardes de la Marine
In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Gardes de la Marine , or Gardes-Marine were young gentlemen picked and maintained by the king in his harbours to learn the navy service, and to train to be officers. They were organized in companies, divided up between the harbors of Brest, Toulon, and...

, becoming his assistant in 1742. There he was talent-spotted by Bigot de la Mothe, who had him draw plans for coastal gun batteries.
He was only 16 when his father died. Nicolas-Marie then took on his brothers and sisters to his careHis sister, Jeanne-Françoise Ozanne, (10 October 1735, Brest – 20 February 1795, Paris), was an engraver - her works include Vues de Dieppe, de Saint- Valéry, de Livourne, des colonies françaises. His second sister, Marie-Jeanne Ozanne (12 February 1736, Brest – 16 February 1786, Paris), married the engraver Le Gouaz
Yves-Marie Le Gouaz
Yves-Marie Le Gouaz, was a French engraver.- Life :A student of Nicolas Ozanne and then of Jacques Aliamet, in 1770 he became engraver to the Académie des sciences, which put him in charge of works...

, whilst her own works include Vue de Livourne and Temps serein, after Vernet ; the Ferme flamande and the Relais flamands, after Wouwerman. His brother, Pierre Ozanne
Pierre Ozanne
Pierre Ozanne was a French naval artist and engineer, brother of Nicolas Ozanne.- Biography :From 1750, Ozanne was schooled at the Ecole des Gardes de la Marine, ancestor of the École Navale, and in Paris, where he was a pupil of Duhamel du Monceau...

 (3 December 1737, Brest – 10 February 1813, Brest) was an engraver and marine engineer.
as engravers to give them a livelihood. He was then spotted by Duhamel du Monceau, who recommended him to Antoine Louis Rouillé
Antoine Louis Rouillé
Antoine-Louis Rouillé, comte de Jouy was a French statesman and comte of Jouy-en-Josas.Born in Paris, the son of the diplomat Pierre Rouillé, he was in succession conseiller to the parlement de Paris , maître des requêtes , intendant of commerce , conseiller d'État and finally commissaire to the...

 - Ozanne then illustrated several works by Duhamel, with whom he was friends.

In 1750, Nicolas Ozanne succeeded Robelin as professor of drawing. In 1751, Rouillé employed him to produce ship designs then engravings of Louis XIV's trip to Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 in 1749. He was admitted as an assistant-member of the Académie de Marine
Académie de Marine
The Royal Naval Academy of France was founded at Brest by a ruling of 31 July 1752 by Antoine Louis de Rouillé, comte de Jouy, Secretary of State for the Navy...

 and in 1757 made a naval artist at the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The 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....

. In 1762 he was given a role in the military geographers' department and at this time was also put in charge of educating the Dauphin's children in naval matters, contributing to the future Louis XVI's interest in the sea. Ozanne retired in 1791, living in poverty until his death in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

aged 82.
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