A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
appointed director of the French Academy. But
neither the masterpieces of Rome, nor the example
of his father, could inspire liini with a feeHng for
the truly grand and beautiful. He preferred the
style and counsel of Bernini to the study of Raphael
and the Carracci; and the depravity of his taste was
confirmed by his returning to Paris at the age of
eighteen ; that is to say, he left Rome precisely at
the time that he should have gone there. He was
only nineteen when he painted his picture of the
'Assumption ' for the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and
but twenty when he was received into the Academy.
He was taken into the emploj'ment of the court,
and became one of the most popular painters of
his time. It is curious to compare the criticism of
two of the most esteemed of the French biographers respecting the works of this painter. "No
artist," says D'Argenville, " possessed the poetry of
the art in a higher degree than Antoine Coypel.
Formed by nature for the grandest compositions,
the fertility of his genius displays itself through
all his works. He was graceful in the airs of his
heads, painted children in the greatest perfection,
and was, above all, attentive in expressing with
propriety the passions of the soul." A less favour-
able judgment is pronounced by Watelet : "Because," says that writer, " he was equal to the
production of a great machine in the theatrical
Bty'e, he was conceived to possess the poetry of the
art ; because he gave to his heads a ph^'siognomy
purely French, they are thought to be beautiful.
His coquetry is called grace, a grace to be learned
of the dancing-master. He consulted the comedian
Baron for the attitudes of his most exalted characters, and travestied a hero of antiquity into a
puppet of the theatre."
It cannot, however, be denied that Antoine Coypel possessed those qualities which are found in the artists most admired in his country, qualities which perhaps were necessary to the gratification of national feeling, and the acquisition of popularity. His principal works in Paris were, 'Christ among the Doctors,' and the 'Assumption,' in the cathedral of Notre-Dame ; and ' Christ healing the Blind at Jericho,' at the Carthusians. He was much employed in decorating the royal palaces, and was made principal painter to the king in 1716, besides holding other important posts. The Louvre possesses his ' Athaliah driven from the Temple,' ' Susannah accused by the Elders,' ' Esther before Ahasuerus,' and ' Rebecca and Eliezer,' as well as between two and three hundred drawings and sketches by him. His own portrait by himself is in the Uffizi, Florence ; the Lille Gallery possesses a picture of ' Athalide et Roxane,' taken from the ' Bajazet' of Racine ; and the Bordeaux Museum, a ' Triumph of Apollo.' In the Dublin National Gallery is a picture of ' Christ healing one possessed by a Devil,' dated 1717. Antoine Coypel died in Paris in 1722. We have by him several etchings, executed in a finished and masterly style, among which are the following :
Melchizedek presentiug the Bread to Abraham. Judith ; half-length ; finished by Simoneau. The Baptism of Christ. Ecce Homo ; finished by Simoneau The Virgin and Infant, in an oval. The Virgin suckling the Infant. St. Cecilia. Cupid conquering Pan. Bacchus and Ariadne; finished by G. Audran; very fine. 1693. The Triumph of Galatea ; finished by Simoneau ; fine. The Head of Democritus. 1692. The Portrait of La Voisin, who was broken on the wheel for poisoning ; two plates, large and small.
COYPEL, Charles Antoine, a painter and etcher, who was the son of Antoine Coypel, was born in Paris in 1694. He was instructed by his father, whose style he followed, although in a very inferior manner. He quitted historical subjects to paint bambochades, but was not successful even with these, his taste for the theatre frequently betraying itself in his pictures in the artificial com- position and in the forced position of his figures. There are two specimens of his work to be seen in the Louvre. He executed a portrait of himself at about the age of fifty, in which he is represented leaning against a table, and holding a porte-crayon. In fact, his best works as a painter are his por- traits ; that of Adrienne Le Couvreur has been admirably engraved by Pierre Irabert Drevet. C. A, Coypel etched a series of the Muses, a caricature ' Histoire d'une Devote,' and some other subjects a la mode, which are of but little intere t. He died in Paris in 1752.
COYPEL, No£l, a French painter, was born in Paris in 1628. He was first placed under the tuition of an artist named Poncet, at Orleans ; but at the age of fourteen he became a scholar of Quil- lerier, under whom he acquired sufiBcient ability to be employed by Charles Errard, who was charged with the superintendence of the works at the Louvre. It was not long before he distinguished himself, and he was received into the Academy in 1663. The picture he painted for his reception was 'Cain and Abel.' It was about the same time that he painted his celebrated picture of the ' Martyrdom of St. James,' for the cathedral of Notre-Dame. He was now regarded as one of the ablest artists of France, and was appointed by the king director of the French Academy at Rome. Thither he went in 1672, and presided over the Academy with great reputation for three years. It was during his residence there that he painted his four easel pictures for the king's cabinet, repre- senting 'Solon explaining his laws to the Athenians,' 'Trajan giving public audience to the Romans,' ' Ptolemy Philadelphus giving liberty to the Jews,' and ' Alexander Sevenis distributing corn to the Roman People.' Tljese pictures were publicly exposed at Rome in the Rotonda, and gained him great reputation. They are now placed in the gallery of the Louvre, where is also preserved his picture of ' Cain and Abel,' as well as several other paintings representing classical subjects. He appears to have imitated in these works the style of Poussin and Le Sueur. His colouring is tender, warm, and clear, and his execution careful. After his return to Paris, Coj'pel was employed on several fresco paintings in the Tuileries. His last work, the fresco of the 'Assumption of the Virgin,' over the high-altar of the church of the Invalides, was executed at the advanced age of 78, and may be considered as one of his best productions. A picture by him of 'Susannah accused of Adultery' is in the Madrid Gallerj' ; and the Bordeaux Museum has an ' Allegory ' by him. Many of his paintings have been engraved by Poilly, Duchange, Cochin, and others. Noel Coypel married in 1659 Madeleine HtoAULT, the sister of Charles Herault, the landscape painter, and herself an artist of ability. She was born in 1635, and died in Paris in 1682. In 1685 Coypel married, as his second
wife, Anne FRANgoiSE Perin, a young artist whose
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