Prud'hon, Pierre

(1758-1823)

   painter

   Pierre Prud'hon (known also as Pierre-Paul) was born in Cluny and trained in Paris and Dijon. He traveled to Rome to study (1785-88), where he became friends with Antonio Canova, the famous Italian sculptor. There, he also discovered Alexandrian and Pompeian art and was influenced by the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Correg-gio. on his return to Paris, he painted a number of portraits and did the decorative panels for the hôtel de Lanois. He was employed by napoléon i as court painter and decorator and was widely acclaimed for his portrait L'Impératrice Joséphine à la Malmaison (1805). Prud'hon expanded into allegorical and mythological themes (La Justice et la Vengeance divine poursuivant le Crime, 1808; Vénus et Adonis, 1812). If Prud'hon's elegiac grace seems to be a heritage of the 18th century, his melancholy sensuality, the dreaminess of his figures, his taste for diagonal composition, shaded contours, and clear moonlit scenes with silvery chiaroscuro tones announce the coming of romanticism. Prud'hon was named to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1816.