François-Hubert Drouais, born in Paris on December 14, 1727, was a master of portraiture and an artistic authority during the final phase of Louis XV's reign. He counted French royalty, the nobility, foreign aristocrats, and the wealthiest members of Parisian society among his clients. As his fame grew at the French court, Drouais became the style-setting artist of the day, and his portraits became a social must. Despite occasional criticism, he enjoyed great admiration and wide popularity during his active creative years.
In his training, Drouais benefited from a number of notable masters, including his father Hubert Drouais, Donat Nonnotte, Charles André van Loo, Charles Joseph Natoire and François Boucher. His rise to the circle of the Académie Royale was marked by the successful exhibition of his portraits of the famous sculptors Edmé Bouchardon and Guillaume II. Coustou at the Salon of 1759 confirmed this. In the following years until his death in 1775, he regularly attended the meetings of the Académie Royale and exhibited his works at the prestigious Salon of the Louvre in Paris. Drouais' portrait oeuvre included an impressive list of nobles and personalities of his time. In addition to the Comtesse du Barry, he painted Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Comte de Provence, later Louis XVIII, holding the position of first painter from 1772 until his death. Louis XV's daughters, known as Mesdames de France, were also among his most important patrons. They even suggested him to their father Louis XV as portraitist for the young Marie-Antoinette in Vienna, although his commission was considered too high and Joseph Ducreux received the commission instead.
Some of his students, including Catherine Lusurier, his son Jean Germain Drouais, Jean Louis Voille, and Pierre-Hippolyte Lemoyne, also became well-known artists. His artistic legacy includes portraits of Louis XV, Louis' official mistresses Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, the Mesdames de France, the Comte and Comtesse de Provence, the Comte de Buffon, Madame Favart, and the young Marie-Antoinette. As fine art print reproducers, we strive to preserve the subtlety and precision that Drouais brought to his portraits. Each fine art print is a testament to the fine art of portraiture and a tribute to the historical significance and influence of François-Hubert Drouais.
François-Hubert Drouais, born in Paris on December 14, 1727, was a master of portraiture and an artistic authority during the final phase of Louis XV's reign. He counted French royalty, the nobility, foreign aristocrats, and the wealthiest members of Parisian society among his clients. As his fame grew at the French court, Drouais became the style-setting artist of the day, and his portraits became a social must. Despite occasional criticism, he enjoyed great admiration and wide popularity during his active creative years.
In his training, Drouais benefited from a number of notable masters, including his father Hubert Drouais, Donat Nonnotte, Charles André van Loo, Charles Joseph Natoire and François Boucher. His rise to the circle of the Académie Royale was marked by the successful exhibition of his portraits of the famous sculptors Edmé Bouchardon and Guillaume II. Coustou at the Salon of 1759 confirmed this. In the following years until his death in 1775, he regularly attended the meetings of the Académie Royale and exhibited his works at the prestigious Salon of the Louvre in Paris. Drouais' portrait oeuvre included an impressive list of nobles and personalities of his time. In addition to the Comtesse du Barry, he painted Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Comte de Provence, later Louis XVIII, holding the position of first painter from 1772 until his death. Louis XV's daughters, known as Mesdames de France, were also among his most important patrons. They even suggested him to their father Louis XV as portraitist for the young Marie-Antoinette in Vienna, although his commission was considered too high and Joseph Ducreux received the commission instead.
Some of his students, including Catherine Lusurier, his son Jean Germain Drouais, Jean Louis Voille, and Pierre-Hippolyte Lemoyne, also became well-known artists. His artistic legacy includes portraits of Louis XV, Louis' official mistresses Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, the Mesdames de France, the Comte and Comtesse de Provence, the Comte de Buffon, Madame Favart, and the young Marie-Antoinette. As fine art print reproducers, we strive to preserve the subtlety and precision that Drouais brought to his portraits. Each fine art print is a testament to the fine art of portraiture and a tribute to the historical significance and influence of François-Hubert Drouais.
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