Antoine-Denis Chaudet Facts for Kids

Portrait of Chaudet by his wife Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, around 1802

Antoine-Denis Chaudet (born March 3, 1763 – died April 19, 1810) was a famous French sculptor. He created art in the Neoclassical style. This means his work was inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art. He was born and passed away in Paris, France.

Life and Work of Antoine-Denis Chaudet
- Studying in Rome and Returning to France
- Later Career and Legacy
Notable Sculptures by Chaudet
Gallery
See also

Life and Work of Antoine-Denis Chaudet

Chaudet started his art training with Jean-Baptiste Stouf. He studied at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. In 1784, he won a special award called the Prix-de-Rome. This prize was for his bas-relief artwork. A bas-relief is a type of sculpture where figures stick out slightly from a flat background. His winning piece was titled Joseph Sold into Slavery by His Brothers.

Studying in Rome and Returning to France

Winning the Prix-de-Rome allowed Chaudet to study in Italy. He spent four years at the French Academy in Rome. There, he learned a lot by studying old Roman and Greek sculptures. When he came back to France in 1789, he joined the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.

Around 1801, Chaudet helped illustrate a book. It was a collection of plays by Jean Racine. Many of his drawings for this book showed scenes from the Bible. At this time, he also married one of his art students. Her name was Jeanne-Elisabeth Gabiou. He also worked with architects Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine and Charles Percier. They collaborated on different building projects.

Later Career and Legacy

In 1805, Chaudet became a member of the Institute of France. This was a very important group for artists and thinkers. In February 1810, he became a Professor-Rector. This was a high teaching position at the École des Beaux-Arts. Sadly, he died only two months later. He was buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery. The Louvre museum in Paris has many of his sketches and notes.

In 1812, Napoleon had a marble statue of himself made by Chaudet. Napoleon then sent this statue to Moscow. It is now on display at the Borodino Panorama Museum [ru].

Notable Sculptures by Chaudet

Here are some of Antoine-Denis Chaudet's most famous artworks:

Peace (also known as Pax, created between 1800 and 1810)
Busts of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine (shown in 1811)
L'Amour (which means Cupid and the Butterfly), finished after his death by Pierre Cartellier (1817), now at the Louvre Museum
Joseph Sold Into Slavery by his Brothers (a bas-relief from 1784)
The infant Oedipus and Phorbas (1799). This piece was shown at the Salon of 1801. It was completed by Pierre Cartellier (1757–1831) and Louis Dupaty (1771–1825) after Chaudet passed away.