Louis-Jacques Goussier (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...

 1722 - Paris 1799) was a French

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...

 illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

 and encyclopedist

French Encyclopédistes

The encyclopédistes were a group of 18th-century writers in France who compiled and wrote the Encyclopédie, edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. More than a hundred encyclopédistes have been identified. Many were part of the intellectual group known as the philosophes...

.

Career

Born poor, he first studies mathematics at Pierre-André Leguay de Prémontval (1716–1764) free school, and then becomes a teacher himself. The school closes in 1744 and Goussier starts an illustrator career. He works with scientists such as La Condamine

La Condamine

La Condamine is the second oldest district in Monaco, after Monaco-Ville. It is known for its distinctive wide harbor and moored expensive yachts.- Location in Monaco :By broad definition, it is one of the four traditional quartiers...

, Étienne-Claude de Marivetz and Roland de La Platière. In 1792, he is hired by the Minister of the Interior

Minister of the Interior (France)

The Minister of the Interior in France is one of the most important governmental cabinet positions, responsible for the following:* The general interior security of the country, with respect to criminal acts or natural catastrophes...

 (arts and craft division) and in 1794 by the Comité de Salut public (weapons division).

Personal life

In 1751, he weds Marie-Anne-Françoise Simmonneau. They had two children.

His wife sends him to jail, once, allegating he had no religion and didn't have respect for divine and human laws. Ten days later she changed her mind, telling he was an honest man with spirit.

He was known as a beloved person, a good husband and a good friend. He liked both pleasure and science.

Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....

 made a portrait of Goussier in Jacques le fataliste et son maître

Jacques le fataliste et son maître

Jacques the Fatalist and his Master is a novel by Denis Diderot, written during the period 1765-1780. The first French edition was published posthumously in 1796...

, where he stands as La Gousse.

Diderot's encyclopedia

Louis-Jacques Goussier is famous for his work on Diderot's encyclopedia

Encyclopédie

Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...

. He was the first drawer to be hired on that project, in 1747 and he did himself more than 900 plates and directed the drawing of the others. Some call Goussier the third encyclopedist, after Diderot and d'Alembert.

Goussier spent ten years visiting people of all arts and techniques (textile, smith, mill, glass, etc.), and twenty-five years drawing. He also wrote sixty-one articles.