Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Painter and draftsman of genre scenes and landscapes, Jean-Baptiste Le Prince is known above all for his images of Russia, its inhabitants, and their customs. Born to an artistic family originally from Rouen, he entered the studio of François Boucher sometime around 1750 where he worked learning etching while simultaneously developing his own style. He traveled to St. Petersburg in the beginning of the summer of 1757, the date at which the artist began his “carrière russe.” He created numerous decorations for the Empress. He also traveled far into the Russian territories where few westerners had ever traveled. On these voyages he filled sketchbooks with observations of the people and landscape as well as collected unique cultural objects. Upon returning to France in 1762, he used this documentary material to assist him in creating works with Russian themes. Aside from chinoseries and turqueries, the “russeries” of Le Prince were an important part of the reparatory of exotic subjects popular at that time. During his career Le Prince’s compositions were so popular they were often adopted for use in decorative arts and illustration. Le Prince was officially accepted by the Académie en 1765 with his painting Le Baptême Russe today in the Musée du Louvre.