Puget
NAME:
Puget, Pierre
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Sculpture
NICKNAME/ALIAS:
None
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
16 October 1620, Marseilles, France
DATE AND PLACE OF DEATH AND AGE AT DEATH:
2 December 1994, Marseilles, France. Aged 74
DISCIPLINE:
Sculptor
FIELD:
Sculpture
LANGUAGE:
French
PARENTS:
Father: name ?
Mother: name ?
SIBLINGS:
?
SPOUSE:
Name ?
CHILDREN:
Names ?
EDUCATION:
?
MAJOR WORK:
Sculpture:
“Milo of Crotona” (c1671-84)
LIFE AND WORK:
Puget was trained under a Marseilles sculptor who carved the prows of warships. In around 1638, he went to Italy to complete his studies and worked in Rome and Florence. He was employed by the artist <worked for> Cortona* to work on the ceiling decorations of the Barberini Palace in Rome and the Pitti Palace in Florence. On his return to France in 1643 he worked again in the naval dockyards, carving figureheads for ships, and he also painted altarpieces.
He received his first important commission in 1656 when he was asked to execute a doorway for the Hotel de Ville in Toulon. The style of the work was based on the Roman baroque tradition and his execution was remarkably fluid. The influence of both <influenced by> Michelangelo* and Cortona is seen in Puget’s depiction of the supporting caryatids not as heroic gods but as real humans expressing mental anguish as they struggle with the pain of their heavy burden.
In 1659 Puget went to Paris after receiving a commission to make two statues for the French finance minister, <commissioned by> Fouquet*. Fouquet was so pleased with the result that he commissioned a statue of Hercules. In 1661 Fouquet fell from power and was replaced by <an enemy was> Colbert* who prevented Puget from obtaining any major commissions for the next twenty years.
Although some historians have speculated that this was because of Puget’s connection with Fouquet others have pointed out that Puget’s style did not match the preference for restrained classicism of <a rival was> Le Brun* who, together with Colbert, dictated French taste in the arts.
Puget’s style was individual and far more baroque than classical. He was also an aggressively bad-tempered man who would not have accepted criticism or guidance from Le Brun – or from anybody else.
He remained in Italy and became a highly regarded sculptor in Genoa. His most notable works from this period were statues of Saint Sebastian and the Blessed Alessandro Sauli which were made for the church of Santa Maria di Carignano in Genoa.
In 1667 Puget returned to France and settled in the Marseilles area. He undertook architectural work in Marseilles and Toulon and also decorated ships while still continuing to sculpt. In 1670 he found two blocks of abandoned marble in the dockyards at Toulon and eventually obtained permission from Colbert to use them for sculpture. Puget famously wrote a memorandum to Colbert in which he set out the terms on which he was willing to work for the king.
He began work on a relief featuring “Alexander and Diogenes” and on what became his masterpiece, the “Milo of Crotona”. The “Milo”, executed between 1671-82, portrays the athlete “Milo” with his hand caught in a tree trunk as he is attacked by a lion. The combines emotional intensity and physical violence with a geometrical regularity of composition. The whole statue is a series of straight lines and planes and, by tempering the baroque elements, Puget has been said to have invented French baroque.
In 1683 the “Milo” was taken to Versailles by Puget’s son. After an initial hesitation, Louis XIV signified his approval and the statue was installed in a good position in the gardens at Versailles. It was admired by <a fan was> Louvois* and after Colbert died in the same year, Louvois wrote to Puget to congratulate him.
Puget was much encouraged and in 1684 despatched his “Perseus and Andromeda” to Versailles where it was warmly received. He worked on the completion of “Alexander and Diogenes” and planned several other works for Versailles, including an equestrian statue of the king.
Unfortunately, Puget had incurred jealousy among his rivals and he made too many enemies through his arrogant attitude. He lost favor at Versailles and after Louvois’s death in 1691 he had no protector at court. The king refused his last work and Puget had to work hard to get payment for his earlier work. His last years were embittered.
ASSESSMENT: Puget was a baroque sculptor who developed a highly individual style.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: None
ONELINER: Pierre Puget, French baroque sculptor
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Blunt, Anthony, Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1999