Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust
Encyclopedia
Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust (1753-1817) was a French neoclassical painter.

In 1770, at age seventeen, Giroust started studying painting in the studio of Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien , French painter, was born at Montpellier. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791....

, a pioneer of Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

. Among other students was Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...

.
In 1775, Vien left Paris as he became director of the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...

, and took David with him. Giroust thus decided to move to study with Nicolas Bernard Lépicié
Nicolas Bernard Lépicié
Nicolas Bernard Lépicié was a French painter , the son of two reputed engravers at the time, Francois-Bernard and Renee-Elisabeth, was introduced to the artistic and cultural environment by his parents.- Life :...

.

In 1778, after being awarded the Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...

 with the painting The Indignation of David, Giroust left for Rome where he once again joined Vien. Once back in France, Giroust was elected at the Academy, on March 29, 1788, with the painting Oedipus at Colonus, a work of pure Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

. The choice of a blind hero was surely informed by David's 1780 Blind Belisarius.

Giroust's career was however brought to an end by the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. He didn't champion the new regime, and eventually retired to the countryside and hardly painted anymore. Giroust died in 1817.
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