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| Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702–1789) | ||||||||||
| A French painter born in Geneva, Liotard began his studies under Professor Gardelle and Petitot, copying their enamels and miniatures with notable skill. In 1725, he moved to Paris to study under Jean-Baptiste Massé and François Le Moyne, who recommended him to the Marquis Puysieux, leading to a journey to Naples. By 1735, he was in Rome, where he painted portraits of Pope Clement XII and several cardinals. Three years later, he travelled to Constantinople with Lord Duncannon, and in 1742, he went to Vienna to paint the imperial family. His eccentric adoption of oriental costume earned him the nickname 'the Turkish painter.' Still under distinguished patronage, he returned to Paris in 1744, visited England in 1753, where he painted the Princess of Wales, and went to Holland in 1756. He returned to Geneva in 1776 and died there in 1789. Liotard was a versatile artist, renowned primarily for his graceful and delicate pastel drawings. His use of dry pastel on vellum, applied with exceptional control, produced smooth, luminous surfaces that mimicked enamel. Rejecting Rococo embellishments, he favoured plain backgrounds, frontal poses, and unidealised realism, focusing on natural observation rather than dramatic effect. He also distinguished himself in enamels, copper-plate engravings, and glass painting. | ||||||||||
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Art