Hyacinthe Rigaud
Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743).
Hyacinth (Iasent) Rigaud - French artist, master of ceremonial baroque portrait of the times of Louis XIV and Louis XV.
Hyacinth Rigaud was born in Perpignan in 1659. He was the older brother of the painter Gaspard Rigaud. At first he studied sewing in his father's workshop, but from 1671 he improved as an artist under the guidance of Antoine Rank in Montpellier. Then, four years later, he moved to Lyon. It was in these cities that he became acquainted with Flemish, Dutch and Italian painting.
In 1681 he came to Paris, where he created an extensive gallery of prominent figures of the era. Initially demanded by the third estate, from 1688 he worked for the Versailles court. For the next half century, he painted nothing but portraits. Nevertheless, in 1700 he was elected an academician of painting in the historical part. Achieved fame as the French Van Dyck.
