Pilon, Germaine

(ca. 1537-1590)

   sculptor

   Germaine Pilon, considered one of the most important and influential sculptors of the French Renaissance, was born in Paris. He was the preferred sculptor of Catherine de' medici and worked with equal mastery in marble, bronze, wood, and terracotta. His graceful monument cœur de Henri II (heart of henry ii; 1561, louvre) bears the mark of the aesthetic style of the Fontainebleau School, but in the numerous works that he did for the rotunda of Valois in Saint-Denis, other tendencies are apparent: a measured realism derived at once from the French tradition and the Renaissance ideal of Italy, the influence of Michelangelo, and that of the Italian baroque. His portraits attest to his keen sense of observation and vigorous technique. Pilon's works were a strong influence on the following generation of French sculptors.