Augustin Pajou (September 19, 1730 – May 8, 1809) was a famous French sculptor of the 18th century, an outstanding representative of classicism. Augustin Pajou was one of the most sought-after artists of his era, he created many large-scale monumental works and portraits of famous contemporaries. The artist’s work had a huge impact on subsequent generations of French and European sculptors.
Augustin Pajou has been actively involved in teaching for almost 50 years and brought up a galaxy of talented students.
Biography of Augustin Pajou
Augustin Pajou was born on September 19, 1730 in the suburbs of Paris. His father earned a living by making sculptural decorative ornaments, and it was he who instilled in his son a love of art. From an early age, the boy helped in the workshop and turned out to be an extremely capable student. It may seem incredible, but at the age of 14, Augustin became the youngest student of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the history of this institution.
Under the guidance of Professor Jean-Baptiste Lemoine, Page studied four courses and in 1748 won the Rome Prize in sculpture. The young genius at that time was only 18 years old, but in terms of skill he was far ahead of his more mature classmates. King Louis XV himself drew attention to Augustin, who provided the young talent with generous financial support for the entire period of his stay in Rome.
Augustin Pajou lived in the capital of Italy for eleven years, but almost no works of this period of the master’s work have survived to this day. The master returned to Paris in 1759 and immediately gained immense popularity in the metropolitan society. At the age of 30, he became a professor at the academy, and thanks to the special patronage of the king, the artist constantly received highly paid orders.
Sculptor’s career
In 1761, Augustin Pajou married Angelique Roumier, with whom he was happily married for the rest of his life. The couple had two children – daughter Flora Catherine and son Jacques-Augustine-Catherine, who later became a famous portrait painter.
For 30 years, until the beginning of the French Revolution, Page was literally inundated with orders and did not experience the slightest financial difficulties. At the behest of Louis XV, he took an active part in the sculptural decoration of important government buildings and palaces. The monumental works of the brilliant master still adorn the interior of: the Royal Opera at Versailles; Homes for the disabled; Palace of Justice.
By personal order of Louis XVI, from the mid-1770s, Pajou began to manufacture a whole series of busts of great compatriots, most of which are now in the best museums in France. In addition, the sculptor worked fruitfully in the religious and mythological genres, creating unique masterpieces in the classical style.
But the revolution of 1789 radically changed the life of the great master.
By a decree of the new authorities, he was included in the Commission for the Preservation of Monuments of Art and, taking the opportunity, immediately left Paris for Montpellier. Fleeing from revolutionary terror, the sculptor lived for three years in a distant province, where he had to do the boring work of creating a register of historical values. He practically stopped creating, and by the end of his stay in Montpellier he became seriously ill.
Returning to Paris in the early 1790s, the artist found himself in a difficult position. The art market was in a deplorable state, and health problems did not allow him to go abroad. Although Napoleon entrusted the sculptor with several important commissions, Pageu’s professional career was inexorably drawing to a close.
Shortly before his death, the authorities seized the master’s personal studio in the Louvre and forced him to move to another room. Forgotten and humiliated, tired of deprivation and health problems, Augustin Pajou died on May 8, 1809 at the age of 78. His body was buried in the modest Fontenay-aux-Rose cemetery, located on the western outskirts of the French capital, where his grave is today.
