Jean-Baptiste Pillement facts for kids
Jean-Baptiste Pillement (born May 24, 1728, in Lyon, France – died April 26, 1808, in Lyon) was a French painter and designer. He was famous for his beautiful and delicate landscapes. His work became very important because of the engravings made from his drawings. These engravings helped spread the Rococo art style across Europe. They especially made the chinoiserie style popular, which was a European artistic trend that copied Chinese designs.
A Life of Travel
Pillement had a very interesting career that took him all over the world. When he was just 15, in 1743, he moved from Lyon to Paris. There, he worked as an apprentice designer for Jean-Baptiste Oudry at a famous factory called "Manufacture de Beauvais."
In 1745, he traveled to Madrid, Spain, and stayed there for five years. He worked in different cities as both a designer and a painter. One of his paintings from 1748 shows scenes he would often paint: sunny landscapes with shepherds, goats, and sheep near a waterfall. It also featured a water mill, rocky hills with lots of plants, and old, poetic bridges.
In 1750, at age 22, Pillement moved to Lisbon, Portugal, where he continued to be successful. He loved to travel so much that he turned down an offer to become the court painter for King Joseph of Portugal. Instead, he worked at Queluz (Sintra) for a collector named Jan Gildemeester. In 1754, he left Lisbon, just one year before a big earthquake hit the city.
Pillement then spent eight years in England. He really liked the English love for landscapes, especially those inspired by Dutch painters like Nicolaes Berchem. During this time, he met David Garrick, a famous actor, and his wife Eva Maria Weigel. They loved Pillement's art and collected many of his pieces.
In 1763, Pillement traveled to Vienna, Austria. He worked for the Imperial Court of Maria Theresa and Francis I at one of the Laxenburg castles. In 1765, he left Vienna for Warsaw, Poland. There, he took on many projects, including decorating the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Ujazdowski Castle. This was his biggest project, ordered by King Stanisław II Augustus, who admired his work.
After Poland, Pillement settled in Saint Petersburg, Russia, then traveled to the Piedmont region, Milan, Rome, and Venice in Italy. From 1768 to 1780, he moved to Versailles, France. He created decorations for Marie Antoinette in the Petit Trianon palace.
Between 1780 and 1789, he visited Switzerland (Basel) and returned to the Iberian Peninsula (Cadiz, Spain). In 1789, he moved to Pézenas in the Languedoc region of France. In 1800, he returned to his hometown of Lyon. He continued to paint, design for the silk industry, and teach at an Academy started by Napoleon. He stayed in Lyon until he passed away in 1808.
His Artworks
Pillement's art often showed a mix of amazing birds, plants, animals, large human figures, and chinoiserie designs. He frequently worked with printmakers, like Anne Allen (artist), who later became his wife. His designs were used by many engravers and decorators. You could find his art on porcelain and pottery, as well as on fabrics, wallpaper, and silver items.
In 1764, Pillement even discovered a new way to print on silk using colors that wouldn't fade. He wrote about this in his memoirs. He also published many art books, one of which was called Νvre de fleurs, ornements, cartouches, figures et sujets chinois (meaning "Works of flowers, ornaments, cartouches, figures and Chinese subjects") in 1776.
Where to See His Art
You can find Jean-Baptiste Pillement's artworks in many famous museums and collections around the world, including:
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (British Columbia, Canada)
- British Museum (London, England)
- Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, USA)
- Courtauld Institute of Art (London, England)
- Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA)
- Honolulu Museum of Art (Hawaii, USA)
- Indiana University Art Museum (Bloomington, Indiana, USA)
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City, USA)
- Museum der bildenden Künste (Leipzig, Germany)
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Massachusetts, USA)
- National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C., USA)
- Palazzo Pitti (Florence, Italy)
- Gulbenkian Museum (Lisbon, Portugal)
- Philadelphia Museum of Art (Pennsylvania, USA)
- Château du Grand Lucé, France
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Baptiste Pillement para niños
