Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis
Encyclopedia
Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (1699 — 1774), called Duplessis père to distinguish him from his son, Jean-Claude-Thomas Chambellan Duplessis (c. 1730 — 1783), was a goldsmith, sculptor and ceramics modeller, bronze-founder and decorative designer working in the Rococo
manner. He served as artistic director of the Vincennes porcelain
manufactory and its successor at Sèvres
from 1748 to his death in 1774 and as royal goldsmith (orfèvre du Roi) from 1758 to 1774.
He was born in Turin
, as Giovanni Claudio Ciambellano. His earliest work in Turin was carried out for the Prince de Carignan and other members of the house of Savoy
. He arrived in Paris in the suite of Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignan who ran away to Paris in 1718 and set up an extravagant establishment at the Hôtel de Soissons. When Carignan returned to Turin, Duplessis placed himself under the protection of Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1722–1787), who obtained for him workshop lodgings in the galeries du Louvre as a privileged worker not bound by the rules of the Paris guilds, which would not have accepted a foreign-born craftsman.
, where he worked four days a week, modeling new designs for vessels and vases that gave the production at Vincennes new life. The extravagant everted forms of several versions of the Vase Duplessis demonstrate his style. In 1755 he perfected an offset lathe that could turn oval forms.
In August 1756 he moved with the Vincennes manufactory to its new quarters that became the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres
. Made Orfèvre du Roi (goldsmith to the king) in 1758, he occupied lodgings in rue Sainte-Marthe in 1764.
Duplessis invented the extravagant rococo forms of Vincennes and Sèvres vases, the ship-like Vaisseau à mât and the vase with elephant heads. From the early 1760s his designs showed some first signs of the earliest neoclassicism
, the goût grec.
, of which one is conserved at Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, and a set of mounts he contributed during the 1760s to the Bureau du Roi
at Versailles. In Paris he created the wax models for gilt-bronze mounts for furniture and especially for porcelains, in which capacity he appears repeatedly in the day-book of the marchand-mercier
Lazare Duvaux
. Among Duvaux's clients he collaborated most closely in work for the comte d'Argenson, Augustin Blondel de Gagny
and the duc de Chaulnes
. Extrapolating from Duplessis' vases for Vincennes and Sėvres, Ted Dell recognized Duplessis' hand in the bold Louis XV gilt-bronze mounts of a pair of dark blue Chinese porcelain vases in the Frick Collection
(25.8.43-44) and tentatively suggested a core group of closely comparable gilt-bronze mounts for porcelains, ca 1755-60, that appear to be designed by the same hand. A robust gilt-bronze clock case at the Wallace Collection
has also been attributed to Duplessis.
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
manner. He served as artistic director of the Vincennes porcelain
Vincennes porcelain
The Vincennes porcelain manufactory was established in 1740 in the disused royal Château de Vincennes, in Vincennes, east of Paris, which was from the start the main market for its wares.-History:...
manufactory and its successor at Sèvres
Manufacture nationale de Sèvres
The manufacture nationale de Sèvres is a Frit porcelain porcelain tendre factory at Sèvres, France. Formerly a royal, then an imperial factory, the facility is now run by the Ministry of Culture.-Brief history:...
from 1748 to his death in 1774 and as royal goldsmith (orfèvre du Roi) from 1758 to 1774.
He was born in 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...
, as Giovanni Claudio Ciambellano. His earliest work in Turin was carried out for the Prince de Carignan and other members of the house of Savoy
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...
. He arrived in Paris in the suite of Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignan who ran away to Paris in 1718 and set up an extravagant establishment at the Hôtel de Soissons. When Carignan returned to Turin, Duplessis placed himself under the protection of Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1722–1787), who obtained for him workshop lodgings in the galeries du Louvre as a privileged worker not bound by the rules of the Paris guilds, which would not have accepted a foreign-born craftsman.
Porcelain
In 1748, Duplessis joined the porcelain manufactory at VincennesVincennes porcelain
The Vincennes porcelain manufactory was established in 1740 in the disused royal Château de Vincennes, in Vincennes, east of Paris, which was from the start the main market for its wares.-History:...
, where he worked four days a week, modeling new designs for vessels and vases that gave the production at Vincennes new life. The extravagant everted forms of several versions of the Vase Duplessis demonstrate his style. In 1755 he perfected an offset lathe that could turn oval forms.
In August 1756 he moved with the Vincennes manufactory to its new quarters that became the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres
Manufacture nationale de Sèvres
The manufacture nationale de Sèvres is a Frit porcelain porcelain tendre factory at Sèvres, France. Formerly a royal, then an imperial factory, the facility is now run by the Ministry of Culture.-Brief history:...
. Made Orfèvre du Roi (goldsmith to the king) in 1758, he occupied lodgings in rue Sainte-Marthe in 1764.
Duplessis invented the extravagant rococo forms of Vincennes and Sèvres vases, the ship-like Vaisseau à mât and the vase with elephant heads. From the early 1760s his designs showed some first signs of the earliest 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 goût grec.
Gilt-bronze
Duplessis' designs in gilt-bronze are undocumented, aside from the pair of braziers made for presentation in 1742 to the ambassador from the Sublime Porte, Mehmed Said EfendiMehmed Said Efendi
Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Paşa, also Sahid Mehemet Effendi or Mehmed Said Efendi, was a Georgian Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between October 25, 1755-April 1, 1756....
, of which one is conserved at Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, and a set of mounts he contributed during the 1760s to the Bureau du Roi
Bureau du Roi
The Bureau du Roi , also known as Louis XV's roll-top secretary , is the richly ornamented royal Cylinder desk whose construction was done at the end of Louis XV reign....
at Versailles. In Paris he created the wax models for gilt-bronze mounts for furniture and especially for porcelains, in which capacity he appears repeatedly in the day-book of the marchand-mercier
Marchand-mercier
A marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a corporation under rules codified in 1613.. The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took...
Lazare Duvaux
Lazare Duvaux
Lazare Duvaux was a Parisian marchand-mercier, among the most prominent designers and purveyors of furnishings, gilt-bronze-mounted European and Chinese porcelains, Vincennes porcelain and later Sèvres porcelain and all the small, refined luxuries that appealed to Mme de Pompadour, one of his...
. Among Duvaux's clients he collaborated most closely in work for the comte d'Argenson, Augustin Blondel de Gagny
Augustin Blondel de Gagny
Augustin Blondel de Gagny was a French connoisseur of the arts and a collector whose series of Paris auction sales, which took place soon after his death were highwater marks of the history of collecting in 18th-century France. Paintings and sculptures that passed through Blondel de Gagny's...
and the duc de Chaulnes
Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly
Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly , Duke of Picquigny and then Duke of Chaulnes from 1744, was a French astronomer and physicist.-Biography:...
. Extrapolating from Duplessis' vases for Vincennes and Sėvres, Ted Dell recognized Duplessis' hand in the bold Louis XV gilt-bronze mounts of a pair of dark blue Chinese porcelain vases in the Frick Collection
Frick Collection
The Frick Collection is an art museum located in Manhattan, New York City, United States.- History :It is housed in the former Henry Clay Frick House, which was designed by Thomas Hastings and constructed in 1913-1914. John Russell Pope altered and enlarged the building in the early 1930s to adapt...
(25.8.43-44) and tentatively suggested a core group of closely comparable gilt-bronze mounts for porcelains, ca 1755-60, that appear to be designed by the same hand. A robust gilt-bronze clock case at the Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
has also been attributed to Duplessis.