Jean-Baptiste van Loo
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
subject and portrait painter.
Biography
He was born in Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo
Jacob van Loo
Jacob van Loo was a Flemish painter who is considered one of the Dutch Masters of the 17th Century. Van Loo is known for his conversational groupings, his use of a subtle color palette and his nudes. He was the founder of the Van Loo family of painters.- Biography :Van Loo was born in Sluis,...
. Having at an early age executed several pictures for the decoration of the church and public buildings at Aix, he was employed on similar work at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, which he was obliged to leave during the siege of 1707.
He was patronized by the prince of Carignan, who sent him to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he studied under Benedetto Luti
Benedetto Luti
Benedetto Luti was an Italian painter.-Biography:Luti was born in Florence. He moved to Rome in 1691 where he was patronized by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, an enthusiast for the pastel portrait. Luti was one of the first artists to work in pastels as the final composition as...
. Here he was much employed on church pictures, and in particular executed a greatly praised Scourging of Christ for St Maria in Monticelli
Monticelli
Monticelli is a small village, a frazione of the comune of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It has previously been called Monticulo and Monticello.-History:The origins of Monticelli date back to at least the 10th century...
. At Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
he painted Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem...
and several members of his court. Then, moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was elected a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, he executed various altar-pieces and restored the works of Francesco Primaticcio
Francesco Primaticcio
Francesco Primaticcio was an Italian Mannerist painter, architect and sculptor who spent most of his career in France.-Biography:...
at Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
.
In 1737 he went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he attracted attention by his portrait of Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
and of Owen McSwiny, the theatrical manager; the latter, like many other of van Loo's works, was engraved in mezzotint
Mezzotint
Mezzotint is a printmaking process of the intaglio family, technically a drypoint method. It was the first tonal method to be used, enabling half-tones to be produced without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple...
by John Faber Junior
John Faber Junior
John Faber Junior was a Dutch portrait engraver active in London.-Life:He was born to the artist John Faber Senior in Amsterdam, and learned mezzotint and drawing from his father after the family's move to London. He then enrolled at the St. Martin's Lane Academy...
. He also painted Sir Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
, whose portrait by van Loo in his robes as chancellor of the exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
is in the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the prince and princess of Wales. He did not, however, practise long in England, for his health failing he retired to Paris in 1742, and afterwards to Aix, where he died on 19 December 1745. His likenesses were striking and faithful, but seldom flattering, and his heads are forcible in coloring.
Two of his sons were notable painters, Louis-Michel van Loo
Louis-Michel van Loo
Louis-Michel van Loo was a French painter.He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, and he won a prize at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris in 1725...
(1707–1771) and Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo
Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo
Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo was a French painter of allegorical scenes and portraits.He studied under his father, the painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo, at Turin and Rome, where in 1738 he won the Prix de Rome, then at Aix-en-Provence, before returning to Paris in 1745...
(1719–1795).
See also
- His younger sister Charles-André van LooCharles-André van LooCarle or Charles-André van Loo was a French subject painter, and a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a successful dynasty of painters of Dutch origin...
(1705–1765), also a painter. - John Giles Eccardt John Giles EccardtJohn Giles Eccardt was a German-born British portrait painter. He came to England in the company of the French painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo for whom he worked as an assistant. When Van Loo departed the country, Eccardt remained and set up a portrait-painting business...
one of his aprentices, who became a noted portrait painter in Britain.