- Jean Goujon
Jean Goujon (
Normandy ? c.1510 –Bologna after 1572 [A. de Montaiglon, documentary articles in "Gazette des Beaux-Arts", 30 (1884), pp. 377-394, and 31 (1885), pp. 5-21, noted by Stein 1890:6.] ), French sculptor andarchitect , is one of the major figures of theFrench Renaissance . His early life is little known; he may have traveled in Italy. He worked at the church of Saint-Maclou, his earliest documented work, [Goujon executed two columns beneath the organs, and bas-reliefs on doors.] and the cathedral inRouen , in 1541-42, where he executed the monument toLouis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet , before arriving in Paris, where he collaborated with the architectPierre Lescot at thechurch of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois about 1544, working on the pulpit, which was dismantled in the mid-eighteenth century. [Goujon's bas-reliefs are conserved at theMusée du Louvre .] . In 1544-1547 he was occupied with considerable works at theChâteau d’Ecouen for theconnétable de Montmorency . He became "sculptor to the king" (Henri II of France ) in 1547 and in the next years was occupied at theChâteau of Anet . He was imprisoned at Ecouen in 1555 [The attribution to Goujon of the Maison de Diane de Poitiers (bearing the date 1554) atEcouen was made by Henri Stein, 1890, based on the document that placed Goujon at Ecouen, imprisoned under orders of the "bailli " ofd27 September 1555]His most famous works are the sculptural decorations made in collaboration with Lescot for the western extension of the
Louvre , 1555-62. A fine representative ofMannerism in France, Goujon's figures are elongated, sensual and fluid; his drapery work reveals knowledge of Greek sculpture, though certainly not at first hand. He is also responsible for engravings for Jean Martin's 1547 translation ofVitruvius and for work on the Château of Ecouen, for theMontmorency family. In 1562, Goujon left France for religious reasons (he was aHuguenot ).The purity and gracefulness of his style were disseminated throughout France by engravings by artists of the
School of Fontainebleau and had an influence in the decorative arts. His reputation was slightly eclipsed at the end of the century by more mannered tendencies, but was appreciated by French Classicism.His most famous works include:
* "Fountain of the Innocents" (1547-1550) - Goujon sculpted the six
nymphs that decorate this public fountain designed byPierre Lescot . The fountain is currently located - in a much truncated form - in theLes Halles section ofParis ; original bas-reliefs are located at theLouvre
* "Caryatids" (1550-1551) - for the musician's platform in theLouvre , these are highly reminiscent of theErechtheum inAthens .
* "Allegories on the facade of theLouvre " (1549-155) - these are found in the "Cour carrée" (or "square courtyard") of theLouvre
* "The Four Seasons" ("illustrations") made for the courtyard façade of the hôtel of Jacques de Ligeris, now housing theMusée Carnavalet , Paris.To Goujon is usually attributed the engravings of the French version of
Francesco Colonna 's "Songe de Poliphile" (1546), based on the engravings of the original edition (which may be due to the studio ofMantegna ).His workshop is responsible for:
* "Diana with a Stag" (c. 1549)Louvre , designed forDiane de Poitiers for theChâteau d'Anet .Goujon was a Protestant; he escaped the French
Wars of Religion by exiling himself in Italy.See also
*
French art References
External links
*ARC artist|4425
* [http://www.cosmovisions.com/Goujon.htm Imago Mundi: Jean Goujon]
* [http://www.corpusetampois.com/che-19-stein1889goujon.html Henri Stein, "Jean Goujon et la maison de Diane de Poitiers à Écouen", "Annales de la Société historique et archéologique du Gâtinais" 7 (1889), Paris 1890]
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