Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon

Key facts

Lived

1794–1874, French

Movements

• Neoclassicism
• Realism

1. 1794Born on 16 March in Lods, a small village in the Doubs department of eastern France.
2. 1817At 23, competed for the Prix de Rome in Paris as a pupil of Anne Louis Girodet-Trioson, placing third with a painting of Castor and Pollux Freeing Helen.
3. 1834At 40, appointed director of the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Besancon. He later became director of the city's school of painting and sculpture in 1840.
4. 1874Died on 4 August in Lods, his birthplace, at the age of 80.

• What is Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon's most famous work?+

  Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) was a French artist who specialised in scenes of everyday life. King Louis XV liked Lancret's style, and between 1727 and 1743, the artist received commissions to decorate rooms at Versailles, La Muette, and Fontainebleau. Lancret stands out among his contemporaries because of the attention he received from the king. Lancret's royal subjects include The Luncheon with Ham (1735), The Tiger Hunt (1736), and The Four Seasons (1736), as well as works described as fêtes galantes and pastorals. Other European monarchs, aristocratic patrons, and major collectors also commissioned works. Frederick the Great owned at least 26 paintings by Lancret. Lancret's paintings, such as Blindman's Buff (circa 1728) and The Cup of Hot Chocolate (circa 1742), appear to tell pleasing stories of everyday life. These works demonstrate Lancret's masterful handling of colour and rhythmic composition. A sustained interest in themes of childhood and play can be discerned among his varied subjects.
• What should I know about Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon's prints?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon (1794-1874) was a French painter and lithographer. Prints were often used to reproduce paintings and drawings; after Watteau died, Jullienne oversaw the printing of his painted work. The Recueil Jullienne is considered one of the oldest illustrated catalogues in art history. Jean-Honoré Fragonard also made prints at different times in his career. When he returned from Italy, he made etchings of sixteen drawings after the masters for the abbé de Saint-Non; two are dated 1764. The abbé copied these sheets in the style of a wash, known today as aquatint. He wanted to use them to illustrate his Journal de voyage en Italie, which remained unpublished for a long time. Fragonard chose artists such as the Carracci brothers, Castiglione, Lanfranco, and Tiepolo for his etchings.
• What style or movement did Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon belong to?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon lived during a period when Romanticism, Academic art, and Realism were all influential. Romanticism began in the early 1800s, appearing across Europe and America. It can be seen as the opposite of Neoclassicism, though the two movements also overlapped. Romantic art emphasised emotion, and imagination was prized over reason. Artists rejected established rules, and individuality took precedence. Academic art, in contrast, valued skill over individuality. During the 1800s, European art academies became increasingly conservative and resistant to innovation. The Parisian Académie des Beaux-Arts, which was formed in 1816, insisted that artists fuse Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Realism was a revolt against emotionalism, and it emphasised 'truth to nature'. Realists believed ordinary people were worthy subjects and that Neoclassicism and Romanticism were too contrived.
• What techniques or materials did Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon use?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon's techniques and materials are not extensively detailed in the provided texts, but some inferences can be made. Lancrenon, like other painters of his era, would have followed a sequence of steps. First, drawings were made. Then, the composition was outlined on the prepared canvas, and modelling was indicated, often with a reddish-brown "sauce". Local colour, light, and shade were laid in; this sketch was elaborated using a full range of tones laid out individually on the palette. The final stage of painting refined this process further. Seventeenth-century painters considered oil painting a "new" method of painting. Preparing the medium was a vexing problem. De La Fontaine suggests nut oil with lead white thickened by sunlight. He follows this with the recommendation that in order to dry a layer of lead white, or a grisaille layer, one should mix the white pigment with oil of turpentine, which will cause the layer to dry as the turpentine evaporates. For canvas, the material was stretched onto a loom, smoothed with a pumice stone, sized with glue, and then given a double ground, the first coloured with raw umber and red brown spread on with a knife, the second with lead white and just enough carbon black to make gray. For panels, three layers of a fine chalk ground were recommended, with either another layer of glue on top or a gray oil layer.
• What was Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon known for?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon (1794-1874) was a French painter and curator. He is associated with the Neoclassical style. Lancrenon studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and he later became the curator of the museum in Besançon. His artistic output included history paintings and portraits. Some sources place him in the circle of artists around Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Margarethe Gérard, and Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun. These artists represent a transition from the Rococo to Neoclassical styles. Lancrenon's career coincided with significant shifts in French art and politics, from the French Revolution through the Napoleonic era and into the later 19th century. During this time, Neoclassicism became associated with both revolutionary ideals and the Napoleonic Empire, before giving way to Romanticism.
• When did Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon live and work?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon was active in the first half of the 19th century. In 1816, Lancrenon received second prize for (none refuse de secourir Paris au siége de Troie). Between 1816 and 1860, Lancrenon received a number of prizes. These included second prize in 1816, and second prize again in 1817 for Heéléne délivrée par Castor et Pollux, ses freéres. Other artists who received prizes in 1816 and 1817 include A.-J.-B. Thomas and J.-V. Schnetz (1816), and Leon Cogniet and F. Dubois (1817). The Galerie du Luxembourg was established as a museum for the work of living French artists in 1818. Works would be kept there for between five and ten years after the artist's death. Afterwards, they would enter the Louvre, or a suitable provincial museum. This rule was irregularly applied.
• Where can I see Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon's work?+

  To view works by Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon, consider visiting museums in France and Belgium. The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, France, holds pieces from a range of artists. In Paris, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs also has collections that may include his work. Other French museums that may exhibit Lancrenon's art include the Musée d’Art et d’Industrie in Roubaix, the Musée de l’Ecole de Nancy, the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Musée du Petit Palais. In Belgium, the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels is another possibility. Be aware that museum collections and displays can change, so it is advisable to check their current catalogues or websites in advance of a visit.
• Where was Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon from?+

  Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) was a French artist, active in Paris. He initially trained in history painting alongside François Lemoyne at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. They were both expelled in 1708 for verbally abusing colleagues. In 1711, Lancret entered the Prix de Rome competition, but lost to Lemoyne. Around this time, Lancret shifted his focus, possibly after Antoine Watteau exhibited his paintings at the Académie Royale in 1712. Lancret may have entered Claude Gillot’s studio around then. His reception piece, Conversation Galante (Wallace Collection, London), secured his Académie Royale membership in 1719. He was soon described as an “emulator” of Watteau in the Mercure de France. Lancret knew Watteau, but was not his pupil, unlike Jean-Baptiste Pater. Around 1720, their work was so similar that people mistook Lancret’s work for Watteau’s, leading to a breakdown in their friendship. After Watteau’s death in 1721, Lancret’s approach to fête galante imagery became more distinctive. King Louis XV liked Lancret’s style, commissioning him between 1727 and 1743 to decorate rooms at Versailles, La Muette, and Fontainebleau. His royal subjects included The Luncheon with Ham (1735, Musée Condé, Chantilly), The Tiger Hunt (1736, Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and The Four Seasons (1736, Musée du Louvre, Paris).
• Who did Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon influence?+

  Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, a Neoclassical painter, had a considerable effect on artists of the Restauration period and the Second Empire. These include Joseph-Désiré Court (a pupil of Gros), Thomas Couture, Adolphe-William Bouguereau, and Paul Baudry. Ingres's scenes of harems and seraglios also affected the Orientalists, such as Horace Vernet, Alexandre Cabanel, and Paul Delaroche. Later artists such as Edgar Degas, Chaim Soutine, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Pablo Picasso were admirers. Charles-Gabriel Gleyre also devoted himself to aestheticising the past and bringing it to life in painting. He studied in Paris under the history painter Saint-Louis Hersent (1777-1860) and practised watercolour with Richard Parkes Bonington. Like Ingres, Gleyre continued to paint in his Neoclassical style into the second half of the century.
• Who influenced Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon?+

  Several artists influenced painters of the early modern era. Nicolas Poussin, for example, was the 'model of so many artists' and 'the obligatory academic reference for more than two centuries'. Poussin, however, worked alone in his studio, and his sojourn in Paris from 1640 to 1642 was a failure because he did not know how to run a studio. Jean-Antoine Watteau had no pupils, though his biographer reported that he advised Nicolas Lancret to leave his master, Gillot, to study 'nature' and to serve Watteau. However, the connection between Lancret and Watteau was quickly severed, and 'they remained on this footing until Watteau’s death.' Watteau was apparently too difficult in temperament to manage a student's weaknesses. One artist, Pater, returned to Watteau a month before Watteau's death, acknowledging that he owed what he knew to that short time.
• Who was Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon?+

  Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon was a French painter active in the early nineteenth century. He was born in 1794 and died in 1874.
• Why are Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon's works important today?+

  Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) is important as a Rococo painter who captured the social rituals of the French upper classes. King Louis XV liked Lancret's style, commissioning him to decorate rooms at Versailles, La Muette, and Fontainebleau between 1727 and 1743. Lancret initially trained in history painting alongside François Lemoyne at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Around 1712, he shifted to genre painting, possibly after seeing Antoine Watteau's work. His reception piece, Conversation Galante (Wallace Collection, London), secured his membership in the Académie Royale in 1719. Early on, his work resembled Watteau's so closely that their paintings were confused at exhibitions. After Watteau's death in 1721, Lancret developed a more individual style. His paintings, such as Blindman’s Buff (c. 1728, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm) and The Cup of Hot Chocolate (c. 1742, National Gallery, London), depict scenes of everyday life, social customs, and childhood play. These works demonstrate his skill with colour and composition. Other royal commissions include The Luncheon with Ham (1735, Musée Condé, Chantilly), The Tiger Hunt (1736, Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and The Four Seasons (1736, Musée du Louvre, Paris). He also found patronage with Frederick the Great, who owned at least 26 of his paintings.