Pierre Subleyras

1699 Uzès – 1749 Rome

The highly talented and much sought-after Pierre Subleyras was a died-in-the-wool painter, etching clearly being no more than a sideline for him. Trained by Antoine Rivalz in Toulouse, Subleyras did his apprenticeship at the Royal Academy in Paris and, having been awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome (1727), spent the rest of his life in Rome. There the artist was given great encouragement by Nicolas Vleughels, the Director of the Académie de France, and was soon one of the most famous and busiest painters in Rome. A member of the Accademia di S. Luca from 1740, Subleyras painted altar pieces, historical scenes and mythological subjects and also made a name for himself as a portraitist of the Roman aristocracy and clergy. Subleyras’ portraits, in particular, are distinguished by their stupendous painterly quality and their intensive, highly individual psychological characterisation.