Eustache Le Sueur or Lesueur (19 November 1617 – 30 April 1655) was a French artist and one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting. He is known primarily for his paintings of religious subjects. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.
Training and career
He was born in Paris, where he spent his entire life. His father, Cathelin Le Sueur, a turner and sculptor in wood, placed him with Vouet, in whose studio he rapidly distinguished himself.
Admitted at an early age into the guild of master-painters, he left them to take part in establishing the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648 and was elected as one of the original twelve elders in charge of its administration.
Some paintings, illustrative of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, which were reproduced in tapestry, brought him notice, and his reputation was further enhanced by a series of decorations (Louvre) in the mansion of Lambert de Thorigny, which he left uncompleted, for their execution was frequently interrupted by other commissions.
Amongst these were several pictures for the apartments of the king and queen in the Louvre, which are now missing, although they were entered in Bailly's inventory (1710); but several works produced for minor patrons have come down to us.
In the gallery of the Louvre are the Angel and Hagar, from the mansion of De Tonnay Charente; Tobias and Tobit, from the Fieubet collection; several pictures executed for the church of Saint Gervais; the Martyrdom of St Lawrence, from Saint Germain de l'Auxerrois; two very fine works from the destroyed abbey of Marmoutiers; St Paul preaching at Ephesus, one of Le Sueur's most complete and thorough performances, painted for the goldsmiths corporation in 1649; and his famous series of the Life of St Bruno, executed in the cloister of the Chartreux.
These last have more personal character than anything else Le Sueur produced, and much of their original beauty survives in spite of injuries and restorations and removal from the wall to canvas. Le Sueur was a prolific draftsman and many of his chalk drawings are in the Louvre's Cabinet des Dessins.
His pupils, who aided him much in his work, were his wife's brother, Theodore Goussé, and three brothers of his own, as well as Claude Lefèbvre and Pierre Patel the landscape painter. Most of his works have been engraved, chiefly by Picart, B. Audran, Leclerc, Drevet, Chauveau, Poilly and Desplaces.
Style
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, it was considered that Le Sueur's work lent itself readily to the engraver's art, as he had a delicate perception of varied shades of grave and elevated sentiment, and possessed the power to render them.
His graceful facility in composition was always restrained by a very fine taste, but his works often fail to please completely, because, producing so much, he had too frequent recourse to conventional types, and partly because he rarely saw colour except with the cold and clayey quality proper to the school of Vouet; yet his St Paul at Ephesus and one or two other works show that he was not naturally deficient in this sense, and whenever we get direct reference to nature - as in the monks of the St Bruno series - we recognize his admirable power to read and render physiognomy of varied and serious type. | Source: © Wikipedia
Eustache Le Sueur o Lesueur (19 novembre 1617 – 30 aprile 1655) è stato un artista Francese ed uno dei fondatori dell'Accademia Francese di Pittura. È noto principalmente per i suoi dipinti di soggetti religiosi. Fu uno dei massimi esponenti dello stile Neoclassico dell'Atticismo parigino.
Formazione e carriera
Le Sueur naque a Parigi, dove trascorse tutta la sua vita. Suo padre, Cathelin Le Sueur, tornitore e scultore in legno, lo collocò con Vouet, nel cui studio si distinse rapidamente.
Ammesso in tenera età nella corporazione dei maestri pittori, li lasciò per partecipare alla fondazione dell'Accademia reale francese di pittura e scultura nel 1648 e fu eletto come uno dei dodici anziani originari incaricati della sua amministrazione.
Alcuni dipinti, illustrativi dell'Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, riprodotti in arazzo, lo fecero notare, e la sua fama fu ulteriormente accresciuta da una serie di decorazioni (Louvre) nel palazzo di Lambert de Thorigny, che lasciò incompiuta, poiché la loro esecuzione fu frequentemente interrotto da altre commissioni.
Tra questi vi erano alcuni quadri per gli appartamenti del re e della regina al Louvre, oggi perduti, sebbene inseriti nell'inventario di Bailly (1710); ma ci sono pervenute diverse opere realizzate per committenti minori.
Nella galleria del Louvre sono l'Angelo e l'Agar, dal palazzo di De Tonnay Charente; Tobia e Tobia, dalla collezione Fieubet; parecchi quadri eseguiti per la chiesa di Saint Gervais; il Martirio di San Lorenzo, da Saint Germain de l'Auxerrois; due opere molto belle della distrutta abbazia di Marmoutiers; San Paolo che predica a Efeso, una delle rappresentazioni più complete e approfondite di Le Sueur, dipinta per la corporazione degli orafi nel 1649; e la sua famosa serie della Vita di san Bruno, eseguita nel chiostro dei Certosini.
Questi ultimi hanno un carattere più personale di qualsiasi altra cosa prodotta da Le Sueur, e gran parte della loro bellezza originale sopravvive nonostante le ferite, i restauri e la rimozione dal muro alla tela. Le Sueur era un disegnatore prolifico e molti dei suoi disegni a gessetto si trovano nel Cabinet des Dessins del Louvre.
I suoi allievi, che lo aiutarono molto nel suo lavoro, furono il fratello di sua moglie, Theodore Goussé, e tre fratelli suoi, così come Claude Lefèbvre e Pierre Patel il paesaggista. La maggior parte delle sue opere sono state incise, principalmente da Picart, B. Audran, Leclerc, Drevet, Chauveau, Poilly e Desplaces. | Source: © British Wikipedia
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