SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The French painter and draughtsman Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, born in Cluny in 1758 and died in Paris in 1823, trained in Dijon before embarking on a career marked by public and imperial commissions. At the age of sixteen, a scholarship enabled him to study at the Dijon School of Painting. In 1776, after failing to win the Prix de Rome organised by the province of Burgundy, he received the first prize for painting in the School’s annual competition; he worked there with François Devosge until 1778. Awarded the regional Prix de Rome of the Estates of Burgundy, he spent time in Italy from 1784 to 1788 and made numerous studies after classical antiquity. Returning to France in early 1788, he worked for a few months in Lyon as an assistant to the flower painter Gonichon.
From 1794 to 1796, based in Rigny, in Franche-Comté, he made a living from portraits and illustrations for the publisher and printer Pierre Didot. Elected an associate member of the Institut in 1796, he returned to Paris. From 1798 to 1799, he worked at the Louvre on Wisdom and Truth Descending to Earth, now held in its collections. In 1802, he moved into a studio in the “artists’ museum” at the Sorbonne, where he remained for twenty years. Constance Mayer became his partner and collaborator. For several projects, Prud’hon prepared plans and sketches for compositions that Mayer painted.
Among his commissions was Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime, made for the Palais de Justice at the request of Frochot, prefect of the Seine. Presented at the 1808 Salon, the work was a success there; it is held at the Louvre. Prud’hon painted the portrait of Empress Joséphine in 1805. Appointed drawing instructor to the empress in 1811, he also painted the portrait of the King of Rome, presented at the Salon the following year. His work as a draughtsman also extended to the decorative arts: in 1810, he supplied the designs for the vermeil furnishings intended for Marie-Louise, followed in 1811 by those for the cradle of the King of Rome.
This profile brings together identity references for Pierre-Paul Prud'hon and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Piguet
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Charcoal
Vénus au bain, fusain,
fusain
Catalogue period : 2017-12-13
Published result : 15000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 5000–8000
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on canvas
École de Pierre-Paul Prud'hon — "La délivrance d’Anthia"
huile sur toile
école de
Catalogue period : 2022-09-07 — 2022-09-21
School of
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 1500–2500
View the lot at the auction house ↗Oil on canvas
École de Pierre-Paul Prud'hon — "La délivrance d’Anthia"
huile sur toile
école de
Catalogue period : 2022-06-01 — 2022-06-15
School of
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 1500–2500
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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