COYSEVOX, Antoine

Coysevox was a great portraitist. His bust of Antoine Coypel is subtle still and presumably based on study from the life. There is inherent authority in the features - in the eyebrows alone - but also sensitive, unflattering record of the creased and thickening throat exposed by the unbuttoned shirt.

Coysevox was a great portraitist. His bust of Rigaud’s mother, Marie Serre (signed or inscribed and dated 1706), has both directness and dignity. Rigaud’s painting of his mother served as model for the sculptor.

In conformity with the theories of expression expounded by Le Brun, Coysevox shows the hero in the fire of action and the full inspiration of his genius - a Baroque conception, of which Bernini had set the example in Paris with the bust commissioned from him by Louis XIV.

In conformity with the theories of expression expounded by Le Brun, Coysevox shows the hero in the fire of action and the full inspiration of his genius - a Baroque conception, of which Bernini had set the example in Paris with the bust commissioned from him by Louis XIV.

Work submitted for admission to the Acad�mie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and presented on January 28, 1679. This is one of the few works of its kind to be a portrait; Charles Le Brun (1619–90) was the king’s chief painter, who was Chancellor of the Acad�mie Royale at the time.

A full-sized model of the bust is in the Wallace Collection, London.

It is in the busts of the later years that the real novelty of Coysevox’s style lies. For those of the King and the great dignitaries of the Court Coysevox continued to use the formula which he had evolved as early as 1686. But when he came to portray his personal friends he dropped all formality and swagger and replaced them by penetration of character and naturalism of rendering. We find this tendency as early as the 1670s in his busts of Le Brun. Here, beneath the classical drapery, there appears the pleated linen shirt of the day; and in the rendering of the mask itself the sculptor makes no attempt to reduce the features to classical canons.

The picture shows a full-sized model exhibited to the Acad�mie Royal in 1676, from which Coysevox carved the marble bust now in the Louvre. Le Brun was one of the founders of the Acad�mie and the King’s First Painter, this terracotta is, therefore, a major document of ‘le grand si�cle’.

Under Louis XIV sculpture was serving a decorative function, chiefly in the royal parks and gardens. In Marly Coysevox executed his equestrian Fame and Mercury which were to be replaced there by his nephew Guillaume I Coustou’s famous Horses. Coysevox’s statues were transferred to Paris.

Contrary to the Italian examples, in this monument the main figure was made from marble and the lower sitting figures (the virtues: Prudence, Peace and Fidelity) are bronzes. (Peace is attributed to Jean-Baptiste Tuby, 1635-1700). The monument is an example of a sumptuous classical tomb executed with the help of contemporary sculptors.

Formerly the monument was in the chapel of the College des Quattre-Nations, founded by Mazarin (opposite the Louvre, on the left bank of the Seine, today the Institute of France).

The marble figure of the deceased Cardinal is shown in action. (The height of the figure is 160 cm.)

The detail represents the figure of Prudence (height 160 cm).

Coysevox was the most important French sculptor and the best portraitist of his age. From 1667 he was a court sculptor and made several portraits of the king and other public persons.

Coysevox most original works are his busts which belong mainly to the later part of his career. However, even his early busts, such as this in the Wallace Collection, are free in their movement and startling in the skill of their modelling.

The facial features of Louis XIV had become familiar, due to countless painted and sculpted portraits showing him in flattering garments, or wearing laurels like Caesar, or as a melancholy hero, or as an invincible Hercules. The bronze bust of Louis XIV by Coysevox shows a grave, attentive, almost weary king, if somewhat enlivened by his apparel.

Louis XIV, in his advanced years, had decided to erect a monument to his father, Louis XIII. It required a specific setting in the chancel of Notre-Dame in Paris, and it was Robert de Cotte who was assigned the task in 1708. The large ensemble of marble was set at the entrance, with two royal statues designed to appeal to emotions - Louis XIV was sculpted by Coysevox, while Louis XIII was handled with more sensitivity by Guillaume Coustou I.

The War Salon (Salon de la Guerre) began in 1678 and was finished off with Le Brun’s decoration in 1786. The overall d�cor depicts the victories of France and leads up to the long-longed for peace at Nijmegen. Louis XIV is strongly represented by a large relief of the Sun King himself on horseback obviously defeating his enemies - this was another way to underline the glorious monarch.

In the late seveteenth century the promotion of the Sun King and the progress of Versailles brought about an increase in the quantity of sculpture in France, rather than any fundamental change in the Italian classical traditionwhich has persisted since Fontainebleau. The great impetus of Versailles was towards decorative, and especially garden sculpture. Only a handful of the many sculptors working at that time are well known today, among them Coysevox.

In the late seveteenth century the promotion of the Sun King and the progress of Versailles brought about an increase in the quantity of sculpture in France, rather than any fundamental change in the Italian classical traditionwhich has persisted since Fontainebleau. The great impetus of Versailles was towards decorative, and especially garden sculpture. Only a handful of the many sculptors working at that time are well known today, among them Coysevox.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) was controller general of finance (from 1665) and secretary of state for the navy (from 1668) under King Louis XIV of France. He carried out the program of economic reconstruction that helped make France the dominant power in Europe.

The present marble bust is a replica of the bust commissionned by the Acad�mie de Peinture et de Sculpture for Colbert and given to Colbert, the patron of the academy at that time.

It is in the busts of the later years that the real novelty of Coysevox’s style lies. For those of the King and the great dignitaries of the Court Coysevox continued to use the formula which he had evolved as early as 1686. But when he came to portray his personal friends he dropped all formality and swagger and replaced them by penetration of character and naturalism of rendering. The bust of Robert de Cotte is both more vivid and more intimate than any earlier French sculpture. The bust has been reduced so that there is nothing to distract the eye from the head itself, which is shown in the action of turning sharply round as if the sitters attention had suddenly been attracted to his right. This seizing of the characteristic movement is supplemented by a minute observation in the rendering of the features, which again convey with great vividness the character of the sitter. In its freshness and spontaneity this bust seems to foreshadow the work of Houdon.

In this statue there is a lightness and a delicacy which point towards the Rococo.

In Coysevox’s designs for tombs a tendency towards the Baroque can be seen. In the tomb of Colbert, the deceased is in the traditional kneeling pose, but with deep undercutting and strong shadows. In its original form the allegorical figures would also have started a movement in depth up to the main figure, which is destroyed by the present arrangement of the monument. By articulating the figures broadly and placing Colbert on a distinct level the sculptor achieved solemnity.

In Coysevox’s designs for tombs a tendency towards the Baroque can be seen. In the tomb of Colbert, the deceased is in the traditional kneeling pose, but with deep undercutting and strong shadows. In its original form the allegorical figures would also have started a movement in depth up to the main figure, which is destroyed by the present arrangement of the monument. By articulating the figures broadly and placing Colbert on a distinct level the sculptor achieved solemnity.