Artist Jean - Etienne Liotard 🇨🇭 (1702-1789) | ArtLiveAndBeauty

 

Jean Etienne Liotard's Paintings

Jean - Etienne Liotard (1702-1789), a Swiss artist, was born in Geneva in 1702 as the thirteenth child of Anne and Antoine Lyotard. His parents, both Protestants, moved from France to Switzerland before his birth for religious reasons. In Geneva, owing to the jewellery trade, his father began to prosper and was able to offer a good education for his children. It should also be mentioned that according to some accounts, Jean-Etienne had a twin brother - Jean-Michel, or possibly just an older brother - who also became an artist but did not achieve the same level of fame. Painters use pastels for a variety of technical reasons. However, there was a virtuoso artist in the history of painting in whose hands the pastel seemed to spring to life and become a lively and malleable visual medium. This artist's name is Jean-Etienne Lyotard, and he made his one-of-a-kind creations about 300 years ago. His pastel pictures continue to astound and enchant the audience to this day. And, presumably, that is why the whole European elite - from monarchs to first beauties and members of the enlightened intellect - waited in line for the artist.

"Maria Gunning (later Countess of Coventry)", 1800 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Maria Gunning, Countess of Coventry (1733-1760)", 1749 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

Ironically, the future artist had to acquire the fundamentals of fine painting in France, his parents' native country. In 1725, the youthful Lyotard travelled there and spent three years studying under the engraver and miniaturist Masse. After Paris, there was Rome, Venice, and Amsterdam, where the young artist became familiar with the works of previous masters, learnt new things, and sought his own distinct style. Jean found pastel in Italy, which became his preferred technique and made him famous across Europe. Despite the difficulty in storage, this visual medium was immensely popular among European painters in the 18th century. This graphic material, according to the gifted young artist, most naturally expressed colour and the subtlest transitions of chiaroscuro and vivid halftones. Over time, after perfecting this technique, he becomes the most sought-after painter of his generation.

"“A Lady Pouring Chocolate”, Located in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands", c. 1744 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Marie-Anne Françoise Liotard with a Doll, Musée d'art et d'histoire, Geneva", c. 1744 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"A Lady in Turkish Dress and Her Servant", 1750 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

Jean-Étienne Liotard picked the pastel portrait genre as the major focus of his work, which became his trademark. Although the artist's legacy includes historical genre paintings. And, strangely, he did not always use pastels to produce his paintings; he also used chalk, watercolours, and enamel on occasion. Simultaneously, he constantly found something new, unveiling the picture of each of his models. "He studied how others were doing, and... did everything in his own manner," say contemporaries. This characteristic enabled the painter to establish individuality and taste in his work. Lyotard has always sought independence and individuality in his life and art.

"Portrait of a Woman called Lady Fawkener", c. 1760 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Maria Theresa in a fur-trimmed dress", 1743 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Maria Theresa of Austria (1717-80), Archduchess of Austria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Roman-German Empress", 1743 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Marie Charlotte Boissier, détail", 18th century - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

After all, it was not in vain that the artist's image was so vibrant that it piqued the curiosity of people around him. This is evident from Lyotard's numerous self-portraits, in which the artist depicts himself smiling, sometimes with a gapped mouth, draped in Turkish clothing or wearing high fur caps. The crowd was particularly taken with his beard, which resembled a massive nest and which he wore from his adolescence till his marriage. And, at the age of 54, the painter married a woman much younger than himself. She was subsequently compelled to shave her famed beard. It should be highlighted that this was a pretty weird occurrence. Biographers puzzled how a religious Dutch woman of middling looks from a poor background, for whom Lyotard had little exalted sentiments, could persuade the artist to shave her multicoloured beard. After all, she had been a "brand name" for many years. The beard, as one English critic famously said with caustic irony, was the true indicator of an artist's success, and there was probably some truth to this. In many respects, Jean-Etienne Lyotard's self-portraits contributed to his recognition and success.

"Portrait of a lady-in-waiting, Mme de Séjean, née le Chabellier", 1750 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"portrait of Isaac Louis de Thellusson", circa 1746 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"portrait of Lady Ann Somerset, Countess of Northampton", 18th century - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

The Lyotards had five kids throughout the course of their 35-year marriage. And over all of these years, the already ageing artist had to put in countless hours to support his big family. Jean-Étienne Liotard lived his final years in a little village close to Geneva. During those years, he created still lifes, which were highly sought after by collectors and renowned galleries. The life of a Swiss artist, who was also endowed with a practical intelligence and charm in addition to creative genius, so happened to be full with fortunate events and situations that the master skilfully exploited. Jean-Étienne Liotard for many years of his life was travelling to several towns and nations. He accompanied noble folks on their travels. By the way, at that time, artists frequently had to travel with powerful individuals in order to document significant occasions in their life. Many were prepared to spend astronomical sums of money on this. Thus, Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna served as his most frequent customer. On transparent paper, the artist painted pictures of her children with amazing realism and a unique, delicate brightness that made each child's features appear to shine through the permanent. These pictures belonged to the Empress, who carried them wherever she went. This helped the artist's renown expand across Europe in a variety of ways.

"Mademoiselle Louise Jacquet, actress", 1748 - 1752 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Marthe Marie Tronchin", 1758 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Princess Elizabeth Caroline (1740-1759)", 1754 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Self-portrait in Turkish costume", circa 1746 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Self-Portrait", 1744 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

Jean-Étienne Liotard depicted many famous figures from that bygone age throughout the course of his artistic career. Everyone was impressed with his pictures, which displayed the highest level of colour saturation possible while working with pastels, a startling resemblance of features, and completeness in the image of clothing and jewellery. Jean-Étienne Liotard achieved European reputation and significant patronage as a result of the realism and precision of his work. Many royal residences, the Pope in Rome, and the Turkish Sultan in Constantinople all gave him a cordial welcome. The artist returned from Turkey not only more well-known but also with a completely new appearance. Because of the Turkish attire the artist wore to the end of his days and his beard, people in Europe will start referring to him as "Turk".

"Portrait of Ami-Jean De La Rive (1725-1800)", c. 1758 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Marianne Lavergne, the artist's niece, in Lyonese dress", 1746 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Still Life- Tea Set", about 1781 - 1783 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"The Chocolate Girl", 1745 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

The Chocolate Girl is perhaps Lyotard's best-known piece of Paintng. This artwork is the subject of an intriguing narrative, which claims that the artist represented a waitress who later married a prince to whom she had previously served chocolate in a café. However, there has been preserved a great deal of contradicting information regarding this person's moral and character traits.

In Lyotard's painting "Chocolate Girl," a humble girl with her eyes dropped in front of a customer in a coffee shop who she is rushing to offer hot chocolate to is depicted. One explanation, which was widely believed for a long time, claimed that the artist portrayed Anna Baltauf in this painting as a well-bred representative of a poor aristocratic family. Prince Dietrichstein, an Austrian prince and a member of the oldest and wealthiest family, visited a Viennese coffee shop one day in 1745 to test a novel chocolate beverage. Despite the objections of his family, he chose to marry the charming girl because he was so enthralled by her gentle appeal.

Wishing to offer his bride an unexpected gift, the prince supposedly ordered her portrait to the artist Lyotard. However, it was a unique painting since the prince requested to show the girl as she appeared when he first saw her and fell in love with her. Another account is that the artist painted the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa's chambermaid, who mesmerised him with her beauty.

According to sceptics, reality was considerably less romantic than in a lovely legend. Even Anna was not Anna; she was just Nandl Baltauf. All of her ancestors were slaves, and ladies attained success in life by frequently performing special services in their masters' beds; she was not from a noble house. The girl was specifically prepped for this fate by her mother, who maintained that there was no other way for her daughter to get wealth or pleasure.
This version claims that the prince first encountered the girl working in the home of one of his acquaintances, not in a café. Nandl pushed harder to gain his attention and attempted to stand out in every way she could. The strategy worked, and the clever maid quickly took the aristocrat's place as mistress. She made sure that the prince started introducing her to his visitors and ceased meeting with other mistresses since she was unsatisfied with the role of "one of."

And then came the shocking news that Prince Dietrichstein was wed to a maid, shocking the entire world! When he told the artist that he had really commissioned a picture of the bride to Lyotard, the artist said, "Such women usually obtain what they want. You won't be able to flee when she succeeds. There is a time for everything, Lyotard said in response to the prince's perplexed question about what he meant. There will come a day when you realise this for yourself. But I worry that it won't be too late. The prince, however, did not appear to grasp anything because he stayed with his chosen one till the end of his days and passed away leaving her everything.

The "Chocolate Girl" has been on display in the Dresden Museum since 1765. During World War II, the Nazis removed this photograph and other gallery exhibits to the Königstein Castle over the Elbe, where the collection was eventually uncovered by Soviet soldiers. Art historians are still perplexed as to how the priceless collection managed to survive in those wet, chilly vaults.

Although the identity of the model in the picture has not yet been determined with certainty, Lyotard's "Chocolate Girl," which is regarded as one of her finest works, appears to enthral everyone who visits the Dresden Gallery. The fact that "Shokoladnitsa" was one of the first trademarks in marketing history is notable. Still today, a chain of coffee shops uses it as their brand.

"Presumed portrait of Laura Tarsi in Turkish dress"

"Young girl with a flowerpot with hyacinths", 1750 - 1755 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of a young woman", late 18th century - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"François Tronchin", 1757 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Self-portrait in Turkish costume", circa 1750 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Madame François Tronchin (née Anne-Marie Fromaget)", 1758 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Marie-Rose de Larlan de Kercadio de Rochefort, Marquise des Nétumières", 1750 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Lady Charles Tyrell, née Jeanne-Elisabeth Sellon", c. 1764 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Mme Boère", 1746 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Louise d'Épinay (1726-1783)", c. 1759 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven", 1755 - 1756 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"The Breakfast", 1752 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Maria Josepha van Saksen, Dauphine van Frankrijk", 1749 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Sleeping old lady with a bible on her lap", 1760 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"A watercolor portrait done by Jean-Étienne Liotard", 1762 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Joseph Bouër merchant in Genoa", 1746 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Francesco Algarotti (1712-64)", 1745 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Self-Portrait", circa 1770 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of Charles-Simon Favart holding a book", 1757 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of a Grand Vizier of Ottoman Empire, (probably Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha)", 1738 - 1743 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Portrait of count Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg", 1762 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"The Lavergne Family Breakfast", 1754 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"L’Ecriture", 1752 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

" an English merchant with Hélène Glavani, the daughter of the French consul in the Crimea, both in costume"

"Portrait of George, Prince of Wales", 1754 - By Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard

"Self-portrait", 1773 - by Artist Jean-Étienne Liotard