Jean Ranc

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Jean Ranc: Vertumne et Pomone
around 1710–1722
Musée Fabre, Montpellier

Jean Ranc (* 28. January 1674 in Montpellier ; † 1. July 1735 in Madrid ) was a French painter of the Baroque . Known mainly for his portraits, the artist worked as a court painter in Spain from 1723.

Life

Origin and first year in Paris

Jean Ranc was born in 1674 as the son of the painter Antoine Ranc in Montpellier in the south of France. His father, who was more regionally known as an artist, owned a collection of European paintings and had a workshop with numerous students, including the later important painter Hyacinthe Rigaud from 1671 . Jean Ranc also began his training in his father's studio before moving to Paris in 1696. Here he studied with Hyacinthe Rigaud and later stayed with him as a staff member. A niece of Rigaud, Marguerite Elisabeth Rigaud, married Ranc on June 13, 1715.

In addition to his training in Rigaud's workshop, Ranc studied at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture from December 30, 1700 . With his portrait of Nicolas van Plattenberg ( Palace of Versailles ) as a masterpiece, the Academy accepted him as a member on July 28, 1703. In the following years he worked successfully as a portraitist for the Parisian aristocracy and taught painting at the Académie royale from 1707. His style of these years was closely based on his teacher Rigaud and the pictures of Jean-Marc Nattier . His portrait Louis XV. at the age of 9 years very much to the portrait of Louis XV. at the age of 5 years his teacher Rigaud (both also Versailles Palace). In the case of unsigned works by both artists, there were repeated uncertainties as to the attribution.

Ranc as court painter in Madrid

Jean Ranc: Charles III. as a child
1722–1723
Museo del Prado, Madrid

With the accession of the Bourbons to the throne in Spain by Philip V , a grandson of the French King Louis XIV , the Spanish court wanted to hire a leading French painter. After respected painters such as Jean François de Troy , Nicolas de Largillière and Rigaud showed no interest in this offer, the French minister and Cardinal Guillaume Dubois, on the advice of Rigaud, put Jean Ranc at the Spanish court.

In 1723 Ranc went to Madrid with his wife and their now-born children Antoine Jean-Baptiste, Hyacinthe, Marguerite Elisabeth, Claude and Hyacinthe-Joseph. Two other children of the painter, Jean-Baptiste and Antonia, were later born in the Spanish capital. He stayed in Madrid until the end of his life, only interrupted by a stay in Lisbon in the years 1729-1730.

The portrait of Charles III is one of the earliest works of his time in Madrid . of Spain as a child . His father Philipp V was enthusiastic about Ranc's painting and preferred him to Spanish painters in the future, and he also appointed him court painter. This resulted in numerous portraits of the royal family, including an equestrian portrait of King Philip V, based on the models of Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velázquez .

In addition to these portraits, Ranc created some decorations for the royal residence Real Alcázar de Madrid , which also housed the artist's workshop. At Christmas 1734 a fire broke out in this palace and completely destroyed the building. Among the numerous works of art that were destroyed in this process were also many works by Jean Ranc. A few months later, on July 1, 1735, Ranc died in Madrid.

Works in public collections (selection)

literature

  • Juan José Luna: Jean Ranc: Ideas artísticas y métodos de trabajo, a través de pinturas y documento . Instituto Diego Velázquez / Archivo Español de Arte, Madrid 1980.
  • Yves Bottineau: L'art de cour dans L'Espagne de Philippe V: 1700 - 1746 . Conseil Générale Hauts-de-Seine, Sceaux 1993, ISBN 2-901437-05-2 .
  • Juan José Luna, Andrés Úbeda de los Cobos: Pintura europea del siglo XVIII . Museo del Prado, Madrid 1997, ISBN 84-87317-65-0 .
  • Ronda Kasl: Painting in Spain in the age of enlightenment: Goya and his contemporaries . University of Washington Press, Seattle 1997 ISBN 0-295-97603-9 .

Web links

Commons : Jean Ranc  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Ranc, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French Baroque painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1674
PLACE OF BIRTH Montpellier
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1735
Place of death Madrid