Alexis Grimou
Alexis Grimou | |
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Born | 24 May 1678 Argenteuil,[1] France |
Died | May 1733 Paris, France | (aged 54–55)
Alexis Grimou, also Grimoult or Grimoux (1678–1733), was a French portrait painter.[2] He worked for an elite clientele and was called the French Rembrandt as he introduced the Northern European style of portrait painting in France.[3] Many of his intimate portraits at half-lengths were influential on the development of 18th-century portrait painting in France. Portrait painters such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Jean-Baptiste Greuze were influenced by his work.[4]
Life
Grimou was born in Argenteuil on 24 May 1678, the son of a carpenter. He is often confused with Jean Grimou (1674–1733), an unrelated Swiss
In 1704, he married Marie-Gabrielle Petit, a niece of Procopio Cutò, founder of the Café Procope, a meeting place for artists and intellectuals. Economics may have been a motive in the union, as a notary document in the Archives Nationales reveals that she owned a considerable amount of property on Mauritius; along with slaves and "autres effets mobiliers et immobiliers" (other assets, moveable and immoveable).
His brother-in-law, Matthias François Petit, was the intermediary who, between 1740 and 1753, was commissioned to purchase art for the collection of King
In 1705 he was approved (agréé) by the
In 1709, he may have visited the Netherlands to copy the
He died in 1733, well known and appreciated for his work.
Work
Grimou painted mainly portraits at half-length which are intimate in nature and often include a genre aspect. Because of the influence of Dutch genre and portrait painting and the use of chiaroscuro techniques similar to those used by Rembrandt in his works, he was sometimes called the "French Rembrandt". Grimou developed the moralistic traits in Dutch genre portraits into budding representations of new concept of aesthetic taste. The artist projected a refined image in his self-portraits as a drinker and as Bacchus.[3]
His fantasy portraits which are close to Dutch
Gallery
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Portrait of a gentleman dressed à la Van Dyck, probably a self-portrait
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Portrait of a woman playing a hurdy gurdy
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Portrait of a young man
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Le Marquis d’Artaguiette en buveur
musée Bernard-d'Agesci -
Portrait of Mrs Héron de la Tuilerie and Héron de Courgy, in Flemish costume
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The toper
References
- ^ Alexis Grimou – Larousse.fr
- RKD
- ^ a b c Melissa Percival, Taste and Trade: The Drinking Portraits of Alexis Grimou (1678–1733) in The Art Bulletin Volume 101, 2019 - Issue 1, pp. 6-25
- ^ a b c d Corinne Maisant, Alexis Grimou, Grove Art online
- ^ Cyrille Gabillot, p. 7
- ^ a b François Marandet, Alexis Grimou (Argenteuil, 1678 - Paris, 1733), in: 'Dossier de presse Bon Boullogne (1649-1717) Un chef d’école au Grand Siècle', 5 décembre 2014 – 5 mars 2015 Musée Magnin, pp 20-21
- ^ Alexis Grimou in: Mercure français, January 1777, pp. 190=197
Sources
- Cyrille Gabillot, Alexis Grimou, peintre français (1678-1733), Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1911
- Levitine, George (Autumn 1968). "The Eighteenth-Century Rediscovery of Alexis Grimou and the Emergence of the Proto-Bohemian Image of the French Artist". Eighteenth-Century Studies. 2 (1): 58–76. JSTOR 2737654.
- Maisant, Corinne (1996). "Grimou, Alexis". In Turner, Jane, ed. OCLC 1033667059.
- Louis Réau, "Grimou, 1678 à 1733", in Louis Dimier (Ed.), Les Peintres français du XVIIIe siècle, Vol.2, G. Van Oest, Paris, Brussels, 1930, pgs.195-215.
External links
- Media related to Alexis Grimou at Wikimedia Commons