Hyacinthe Rigaud

Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743) - one of the great masters of French ceremonial portrait foreign XVII-XVIII centuries. He was born in the south of France. After several years of apprenticeship in the studio a little-known painter Paul Peze Rigo went to Paris, where he soon began his successful career court portraitist.

. Art of Rigaud was a direct product of a brilliant era of Louis XIV, whose reign marked the flowering of French absolutism
. Assuming, after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, full power, the king refused to share it with anyone whatsoever, coping with the 'craft of the King', as he said himself, alone. From the beginning of his reign, Louis XIV pays great attention to the art. It 'takes to the service of' the most talented and professional artistic forces of the country. Its architects built many palaces and castles of immense size and striking luxury. During the last twenty years of work on the future of the royal residence in Versailles, with its regular gardens, fountains, sculptures and spacious interior, furnished and decorated with stunning splendor. King generously releases funds to the purchase of paintings and sculptures for the royal collection, . founds the Academy of Arts, . patronizes manufacture tapestries, . soon turned into a real national corporations all the arts, . where a whole host of artists, . Sculptors, . Engravers, . cabinet, . silversmiths, . tapestry and T,
. E - established under the strict supervision favorite court painter of King Charles Lebrun striking examples of his art.

If the clothes are decorated with a man, he adorned his court painter of King. Their art has supported the submission, . he created of himself as an absolute ruler, . and that the 'Sun King', . his appearance, . manners, . posture, . pose turned into a standard, . the image and likeness of which create an infinite number of portraits of his subjects.,

. Arrived in Paris twenty-two boys, Rigo has a few years later wrote his first 'royal model'-portrait of the Duke of Orleans, brother of the king, and a year later, a portrait of his son, the young Duke of Chartres
. These two orders have opened the artist access to the royal court and all the aristocratic houses of France, and in 1701 the artist was honored to capture a brilliant image of the monarch himself. Creating his famous portrait of Louis XIV, Rigaud enjoyed all the techniques of Baroque artists. He portrayed the king in all his glory and greatness of his glory: casually leaning on scepter, . ballet his foot, . Louis XIV is buried in the folds of elastic vast ermine mantle, . his head shaded billowing drapery of purple curtain, . reveals massive fragments of architectural backdrop: a mix of rich red, . blue, . green and white color gives the impression of a leisurely and bombastic stage action,
. And all this verbose pomposity Rigo was able to combine with an exceptionally realistic allocated to the way an aging of the 'Sun King', his flabby cheeks, fleshy, overhanging upper lip of the nose, puffy little eyes. Ability to convey the greatness of the monarch, no loss of life specifically, prompted contemporaries say that Louis XIV in the image Rigo most similar to himself.

. Transition period is reflected in the work of Rigaud coexistence of tradition with the innovations of the XVII century XVIII century
. Sam rhetorical style of his paintings, their effects, and theatricality, the combination of moderate and sonorous colors back to the traditions of French classicism XVII century. The method of Rigaud portrait studio is also typical for the art factories previous century. In the creation of works of art take great part in the students and assistant masters. Repetition and copies were made most often only their. Rigaud could only walk with a brush on the already finished work, introducing its own corrections. In addition to students, Rigo helped master, specializing in certain genres. They painted battle scenes, costumes, landscape backgrounds, flowers, signs of dignity ... In the performance of orders for designs often took the already existing options portraits, repeated poses, costumes, details. However, the Enlightenment and the impending bourgeois revolution have affected a greater interest in human personality, that's why the portrait was the leading genre of art of XVIII century.

. Remarkable inaccessible viewer princes Rigaud, surrounded by all relying ceremonial portrait lush enhancements are rendered however the apparent objectivity
. The ability of the artist to combine the majesty of the atmosphere with the presence of a real live person admired by his contemporaries, claimed that Rigo "can be called a painter of nature, he writes only with nature ... everything is in front of his eyes and the truth shines in all that they have done.

The desire of objective characteristics of the image to determine what Rigaud remained predominantly male portraitist. He avoided writing female models. "If I make it so, what they really are, they do not find themselves quite nicely, if I'm flattered by them, they will not like," - says the artist.

An interesting example of the style may be Rigaud portrait of the famous Cardinal Dubois. Sharp pen of Saint-Simon described the son of a chemist, . reaching the very top spiritual and political power and does not stop on its way by any means: "He was a little, . pathetic, . wrinkled skinny man in a bright wig with face caress, . coverage of certain intelligence,
. All sins - perfidy, greed, corruption, vanity, flattery - fought within him for supremacy.

In the portrait by Rigaud - Guillaume Dubois, dressed in impressive cardinal clothing, sitting in a massive velvet upholstered chair. Dropping to one knee in hand with scarlet hat, he is in the other he holds a folded piece of paper, addressed to the King (in 1723, Cardinal Dubois proclaimed the end of the Regency and the beginning of the reign of Louis XV). Thus, he is shown with two symbols of his high position at the papal and the royal court. Pose and gesture of the cardinal referred to the ceremony. And among this solemn officious arises clever fox face the Cardinal with a sharp eye slightly narrowed eyes. The artist has managed to please the customer, but it did not hide from the descendants of the true nature of this corrupt man.

Cardinal Dubois died a month after writing a portrait. He understood the power of art and knew choosing a painter, that Cardinal Dubois brush Rigo will live a century.