Hyacinthe Rigaud

Charles Lebrun advised Hyacinthe Rigaud to paint portraits

Hyacinthe Rigaud was born in Perpignan on 18 July 1659. The descendant of a long-established family of painters, he lost his father at an early age and therefore had to begin his training in Montpellier with the rather insignificant painter Paul Pezet. His other teachers were the equally little-known Henri Verdier and Antoine Ranc; the latter at least introduced his young pupil to the painting of the Flemish master Anthonis van Dyck. Rigaud won the Prix de Rome of the Académie royale in 1682 with a history painting, but did not take up the associated study visit to Rome. This unusual decision was due to the influence of Charles Lebrun: The king's court painter had recognised Rigaud's astonishing talent for portrait painting and advised his pupil to abandon the theme of history and the trip to Rome and to focus entirely on portraiture as his real strength.

Gifted portraitist of the nobility and bourgeoisie

Hyacinthe Rigaud quickly received commissions from courtly circles, probably not least through the mediation and encouragement of his teacher, Charles Lebrun. His breakthrough came with a majestic portrait of Louis XIV's brother, the execution of which was entirely to the taste of the ruling class, and which set the style for a whole series of other works, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the widely copied and widely distributed parade portrait of the Sun King himself. Originally intended as a gift for the King of Spain, the painting impressed the monarch so much that he immediately ordered another copy and had it placed on the royal throne in Versailles during his absence. Everyone had to show the portrait the same honour as the person depicted in it and it was therefore strictly forbidden to turn one's back on the picture of the king. Louis XIV was by no means the only crowned head of Europe to be portrayed by Rigaud. The master's catalogue raisonné reads like an almost complete biographical encyclopedia of his time, including Louis XV of France, Philip V of Spain, Augustus II of Poland, Frederick IV of Denmark and Liselotte of the Palatinate. In addition to the high nobility, Hyacinthe Rigaud also produced portraits of members of the bourgeoisie, where his artistic skill is often even more impressive due to the greater freedom of design. Nevertheless, he largely left this field to his competitor Nicolas de Largillière.

With Nattier’s rise, Rigaud's star began to wane

As the most famous artist of his time, Hyacinthe Rigaud could not cope with the huge demand on his own. To solve this dilemma, he maintained a tightly organised workshop and entrusted selected sections of his paintings to appropriately instructed assistants. One of these assistants was Jean-Marc Nattier, who became so important under Louis XV that he gradually caused the star of his former master to sink. This may also have been influenced by the fact that many of Rigaud's later works were, strictly speaking, only from his studio and not made by the master himself - a fact that sometimes challenges even today's connoisseurs. Regardless of this late reservation, Hyacinthe Rigaud's portraiture became a style-setting influence for numerous artists of his time and later, including the Swiss master of classicism, Anton Graff.

Hyacinthe Rigaud died in Paris on 29 December 1743.