Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet was a celebrated French Baroque painter renowned for his grand religious and mythological compositions. Born into a family of artists in Rouen, he trained under his uncle, the sculptor François Jouvenet, before moving to Paris and joining the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.
His early work reflects the classical balance of Poussin combined with the dramatic movement and rich color of Rubens. Appointed First Painter to the King, Jouvenet executed monumental ceiling frescoes at the Louvre and Versailles, displaying masterful foreshortening and dynamic figural groupings.
A dedicated teacher and theoretician, he influenced a generation of students through his clear drawing style and emphasis on draftsmanship. Today, his masterpieces—such as the ceiling of the Galerie d’Apollon—stand among the finest examples of French Baroque decorative painting.
View Less
