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Charles de La Fosse | |
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 La Fosse at the age of 52, byAndré Bouys (1688) | |
| Born | 15 June 1636 (1636-06-15) Paris, France |
| Died | 13 December 1716 (1716-12-14) (aged 80) Paris, France |
| Known for | Painting |
| Director of theAcadémie de Peinture et de Sculpture | |
| In office 1699–1702 | |
| Monarch | Louis XIV |
| Preceded by | Noël Coypel |
| Succeeded by | Antoine Coysevox |
Charles de La Fosse (French pronunciation:[ʃaʁldəlafos]; orLafosse; 15 June 1636 – 13 December 1716) was a French painter born inParis.[1]
He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils ofLe Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorative works undertaken in the reign ofLouis XIV.
Leaving France in 1662, he spent two years inRome and three inVenice. The influence of his prolonged studies ofVeronese is evident in hisFinding of Moses (Louvre), and in hisRape of Proserpine (Louvre), which he presented to the Royal Academy as his diploma picture in 1673. He was at once named assistant professor, and in 1674 the full responsibilities of the office devolved on him, but his engagements did not prevent his accepting in 1689 the invitation ofLord Montagu to decorateMontagu House, situated inBloomsbury.[2]
He visitedLondon twice, remaining on the second occasion—together withJacques Rousseau andJean-Baptiste Monnoyer more than two years.William III vainly strove to detain him in England by the proposal that he should decorateHampton Court, for Le Brun was dead, butJules Mansart pressed La Fosse to return to Paris to take in hand the cupola ofLes Invalides.
The decorations of Montagu House are destroyed, those ofVersailles are restored (though hisThe Finding of Moses survives in the Louvre), and the dome of the Invalides (engraved byPicart andCochin) is now the only work existing which gives a full measure of his talent. During his latter years La Fosse executed many other important decorations in public buildings and private houses, notably in that ofPierre Crozat, under whose roof he died on 13 December 1716.[3] La Fosse was later Director of theAcadémie royale de peinture et de sculpture from 1699 to 1702.[4]
The artist's works and conception played a key role in the French art history from shifting the classicism of the French style from the court ofLouis XIV towards the lighter and more playful Rococo period's style. La Fosse's style prior to his emergence from the shadow of Le Brun remains a mystery, with very few sheets by him dating earlier than 1680.[5]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lafosse, Charles de".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 71–72.
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