Guillaume Coustou the Elder

Hercules at the stake , 1704 (marble, Musée du Louvre , Paris)

Guillaume Coustou (born November 29, 1677 in Lyon , † February 22, 1746 in Paris ) was a French painter and sculptor. He was the brother of Nicolas Coustou and father of Guillaume Coustou the Younger , both also sculptors.

Coustou came to Paris to live with his uncle Antoine Coysevox when he was 18 . In 1697 he won the Roman Academy Prize, but did not get a place at the Académie de France in Rome like his brother. He therefore went to Rome at his own expense and worked for Pierre Le Gros the Younger , whose lively baroque style influenced him greatly. He returned to Paris as early as 1700. In 1704 he became a member of the royal academy, in 1715 professor of the academy and in 1733 rector.

Many of his works still exist in France; the palace chapel at Versailles has a number in particular . In the Louvre Museum you can see the marble statue of Maria Leszczyńska made by him in a coquettishly spread posture as (powder) Juno.

Works (selection)

designation	technology	Dimensions	Illustration
Marie Leszczynska (1703–1768) en Junon [1]	marble	H: 1.98 m, L: 1.09 m, W: 0.71 m
Cheval retenu par un palefrenier dit Cheval de Marly [2]	marble	H: 3.40 m, L: 2.84 m, W: 1.27 m
Cheval retenu par un palefrenier dit Cheval de Marly [3]	marble
Apollon poursuivant Daphné [4]	marble	H: 1.35 m, L: 1.06 m, W: 1.13 m
Daphné poursuivie par Apollon [5]		H: 1.32 m, L: 1.35 m, W: 0.65 m
Hippomène [6]	marble	H: 1.31 m, L: 1.25 m, W: 0.60 m
Hercule on the book [7]	marble	H: 0.74 m, L: 0.63 m, W: 0.56 m
Nicolas Coustou (1658–1733) [8]	terracotta	H: 0.56 m, L: 0.42 m, W: 0.31 m

Web links

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