Friday 27 March 2015

A Gallery of Vien

Joseph-Marie Vien (Montpellier, France, 18th June 1716 – Paris, France, 27th March 1809)

Joseph-Marie Vien was a painter of some renown. The last person to be named Peintre du Roi, whilst the Revolution may have ended this particular office, it did little to blemish Vien's record even though it did much to damage his finances! 

After training in Italy and winning a stable of illustrious patrons, Vien returned to France and acclaim, welcomed to the Bourbon court where he enjoyed enormous favour. Indeed, though the Revolution cut something of a dash through his achievements, the patronage of a certain gentleman named Napoleon saw him restored to prominence and, at his death, he was laid to rest in the Panthéon, his place in history assured.


Sultane Reine, 1748
Sultane Reine, 1748

L'Amour fuyant l'esclavage, 1789
L'Amour fuyant l'esclavage, 1789

The Oath of Catiline
The Oath of Catiline

Sweet Melancholy, 1756
Sweet Melancholy, 1756

Study of the Head of an Old Bearded Man
Study of the Head of an Old Bearded Man

La Sultan Noi, 1748
La Sultan Noir, 1748

Saint Louis, roi de France, remettant la regence a sa mere Blanche de Castille
Saint Louis, roi de France, remettant la regence a sa mere Blanche de Castille

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