COURT, Joseph-Désiré

(b. 1797 Rouen, d. 1865 Paris)

French painter and museum director. In 1817 he entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Antoine-Jean Gros. In 1821 he won the Prix de Rome with Samson Handed over to the Philistines by Delilah (1821; Paris, Ecole Normal Supérieur). He began exhibiting at the Salon in 1824 and in 1827 showed Scene from the Deluge (1827; Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts), painted while he was in Rome, and the Death of Caesar (Paris, Louvre). The latter proved a sensational success: it was initially bought by the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris, and was re-exhibited in 1855 before being sent to the Louvre. The subject derives from Plutarch and shows Antony stirring the Roman citizens to avenge the murder of Caesar. It was praised chiefly for its dramatic composition.

He was successful as a portraitist at court and in aristocratic circles.

Christian VIII and Caroline Amalie in Coronation Robes

Christian VIII (1786-1848) was the King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. He is portrayed with his second wife, Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1796-1881) whom he married in 1815 after his first marriage was dissolved by divorce. His first wife Charlotte Frederica was accused of adultery.

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Half-length Woman Lying on a Couch

It is assumed that the painting represents the artist’s wife.

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Portrait of Yekaterina Scherbatova

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Young Girl at the Scamander River

In his cultivation of aesthetic and physical beauty Ingres had a lasting influence on younger artists of the Restauration period and the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Joseph-D�sir� Court, a pupil of Gros, was among them, as illustrated by this painting.

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