François Girardon

Sculptor (1628–1715)

Born in Troyes in 1628, François Girardon trained in Rome before establishing himself as one of the foremost sculptors of the reign of Louis XIV. Admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1657, he worked closely with Charles Le Brun and became one of the principal masters of the decorative works at Versailles. His group “Apollo Served by the Nymphs”, created for the Grotto of Thetis and later the Grove of the Baths of Apollo, is regarded as a pinnacle of French Classicism. For the “Grande Commande” of 1674, he executed “The Abduction of Proserpine”, now standing at the center of the Colonnade at Versailles. He is also celebrated for the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu in the Sorbonne Chapel and the equestrian statue of Louis XIV on Place Vendôme, destroyed during the Revolution. His compositions, admired for their balance and nobility, were widely cast in bronze throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.