Pierre Cureau de La Chambre
Encyclopedia
Pierre Cureau de la Chambre (20 December 1640, Paris
- 15 April 1693, Paris) was a French churchman.
, he was struck down with deafness and had to abandon his medical studies. He travelled to Italy and became friends with the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini
and the art historian Carlo Cesare Malvasia. He studied theology and in 1664 he published a collection of his father's works and attended the salon of the marquise de Sablé. A protégé of Colbert
and a friend of Colbert's father chancelier Séguier
, who had held him at his christening, he was elected to his father's seat in the Académie française
in 1670. Around 1668, he became curé of the parish of Saint-Barthélémy in Paris. He died in the famine
of 1693, during which he ran out of food trying to help the poorest of his parishioners.
He had a scholarly reputation and corresponded with Pierre de Fermat
, but the only written works he left were panegyric
s and funerary orations for Theresa of Avila, Bernini
, Maria Theresa of Spain
, Pierre Séguier
, Rose de Sainte-Marie de Lima, Charles Borromeo
and saint Louis
.
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...
- 15 April 1693, Paris) was a French churchman.
Life
Son of the doctor Marin Cureau de La ChambreMarin Cureau de la Chambre
Marin Cureau de la Chambre was a French physician and philosopher who was born in Saint-Jean-d'Assé, a village near Le Mans. Details of his youth and where he attended school are unknown. He was initially a physician in Le Mans, and around 1630 moved to Paris, where he became a friend and...
, he was struck down with deafness and had to abandon his medical studies. He travelled to Italy and became friends with the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
and the art historian Carlo Cesare Malvasia. He studied theology and in 1664 he published a collection of his father's works and attended the salon of the marquise de Sablé. A protégé of Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
and a friend of Colbert's father chancelier Séguier
Pierre Séguier
-Early years:Born in Paris, France of a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre Séguier , was président à mortier in the parlement of Paris from 1554 to 1576, and the chancellor's father, Jean Séguier, a seigneur d'Autry, was civil lieutenant of Paris at the time of...
, who had held him at his christening, he was elected to his father's seat in the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
in 1670. Around 1668, he became curé of the parish of Saint-Barthélémy in Paris. He died in the famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
of 1693, during which he ran out of food trying to help the poorest of his parishioners.
He had a scholarly reputation and corresponded with Pierre de Fermat
Pierre de Fermat
Pierre de Fermat was a French lawyer at the Parlement of Toulouse, France, and an amateur mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his adequality...
, but the only written works he left were panegyric
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
s and funerary orations for Theresa of Avila, Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
, Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
, Pierre Séguier
Pierre Séguier
-Early years:Born in Paris, France of a prominent legal family originating in Quercy. His grandfather, Pierre Séguier , was président à mortier in the parlement of Paris from 1554 to 1576, and the chancellor's father, Jean Séguier, a seigneur d'Autry, was civil lieutenant of Paris at the time of...
, Rose de Sainte-Marie de Lima, Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo was the cardinal archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was a leading figure during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests...
and saint Louis
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
.