{"id":5233,"date":"2025-11-27T13:00:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T12:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/?post_type=newsletter&p=5233"},"modified":"2026-04-07T15:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:38:54","slug":"louis-simon-boizot-1743-1809","status":"publish","type":"newsletter","link":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/newsletter\/louis-simon-boizot-1743-1809\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis-Simon Boizot (1743\u22121809) \u2013 A sculptor for the decorative arts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Louis-Simon Boizot (after), S\u00e8vres manufactory, Clock \u201cvase Boizot\u201d with a partridge eye background<\/em>, 1781, Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre (inv. OA 7607)\u00a9 2008 GrandPalaisRmn (mus\u00e9e du Louvre) \/ Jean-Gilles Berizzi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excelling in both monumental sculpture and the decorative arts, Louis-Simon Boizot was an artist of many talents. In statuary, porcelain, and bronze, he infused an elegant neoclassicism that defined an era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Louis-Simon Boizot, M\u00e9l\u00e9agre, Boizot\u2019s admission piece at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, November 28, 1778 (model approved on November 23, 1771), <\/em>1778, Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre (inv. RF 3000)\u00a9 2007 Mus\u00e9e du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn \/ Pierre Philibert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in 1743, Louis-Simon Boizot grew up at the Gobelins Manufactory. His father, Antoine, was a royal painter, an academician, and a designer for the manufactory; from an early age, Boizot was surrounded by the king\u2019s artists and craftsmen. Trained in the studio of the sculptor Michel-Ange Slodtz (1705\u20131764), he distinguished himself through his outstanding studies. He received the First Prize for Sculpture in 1763 and subsequently studied in Rome between 1765 and 1770. Accepted into the Royal Academy upon his return, he was formally received in 1778. From Slodtz, Boizot inherited unparalleled technical skill and mastery of drapery. Deeply influenced by his predecessors, he drew inspiration from the works of Falconet, Bouchardon, Pigalle, and the great sculptors of Louis XIV at Versailles.
In 1775, he received a major commission: the fountain of the Croix-du-Tahoir, at the corner of rue Saint-Honor\u00e9 and rue de l\u2019Arbre Sec. He went on to create numerous freestanding groups and portrait busts, often praised by critics when exhibited at the Salon. He also contributed to the architectural decoration of major monuments, notably the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Louis-Simon Boizot (after), S\u00e8vres manufactory (porcelain), The Parnassus of Russia, piece from the centerpiece of Empress Catherine II of Russia<\/em>, circa 1779, S\u00e8vres Manufacture et Mus\u00e9es nationaux (inv. MNC 23240)\u00a9 RMN-Grand Palais (S\u00e8vres-Cit\u00e9 de la C\u00e9ramique\/Martine Beck-Coppola)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the neoclassical movement of the 1770s brought human and animal figures back to the forefront, sculptors were increasingly called upon to serve the decorative arts. Boizot excelled in this field, most notably as director of the sculpture workshop at the S\u00e8vres Manufactory. Appointed to this post in 1773, he held it until 1800, shaping the manufactory\u2019s production in decisive ways. Charged with inspecting the workshops once a week, he corrected and supervised the work of the craftsmen while supplying numerous models\u2014though not every sculpted piece produced during this period can be attributed directly to him.
He designed many biscuit porcelain groups that condensed, in reduced scale, the full art of monumental sculpture. The Parnassus of Russia<\/em> is among his masterpieces in the genre. Created in 1779 to adorn a centerpiece delivered by the manufactory to Empress Catherine II of Russia, the work unfolds a complex iconographic program supported by a monumental composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Louis Simon-Boizot (after), Pierre-Philippe Thomire (bronze maker), S\u00e8vres manufactory (procelain), Grand Vase, commissioned by the Comte d\u2019Angiviller in 1783 for the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, then exhibited at the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles in late December 1783 alongside the latest products from the S\u00e8vres Manufactory; transported around 1787 to the Ch\u00e2teau de Saint-Cloud, in the Galerie d\u2019Apollon, then placed in the Louvre during the Museum\u2019s opening exhibition in 1793,<\/em> 1783, Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre (inv. OA 6627)\u00a9 2011 GrandPalaisRmn (mus\u00e9e du Louvre) \/ Martine Beck-Coppola<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boizot\u2019s role at S\u00e8vres was not limited to small sculpted groups: he also produced a great number of models for vases and services<\/em> pieces. The introduction of hard-paste porcelain at the manufactory in 1769\u20131770 brought new technical possibilities, which culminated in one of his most ambitious projects: the \u201cGrand Vase.\u201d Commissioned by Louis XVI in 1783 and nearly two meters tall, it was a true challenge for the manufactory and a manifesto of the Louis XVI style as developed by Boizot. It features monumental scale, biscuit bas-reliefs modeled by the sculptor combined with enamel decoration, and gilt-bronze ornaments. These mounts marked the beginning of the fruitful collaboration between bronzemaker Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751\u20131843) and the S\u00e8vres manufactory. Many other models still bear Boizot\u2019s name today: among them the \u00ab vase-pendule Boizot \u00bb, the \u00ab Boizot vase with goat and garlands \u00bb, and the \u00ab Boizot ewer \u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ferdinand Schwerdfeger (cabinetmaking), Jean-D\u00e9mosth\u00e8ne Dugourc (after), Louis-Simon Boizot (after), \u00c9tienne Martincourt (caster), Pierre-Philippe Thomire (bronze maker), Jean-Baptiste-Godegrand Mellet (gilder), Jean-Jacques Lagren\u00e9e (painter), Jacques-Joseph Degault (painter), Piat-Joseph Sauvage (painter), S\u00e8vres Mnaufactory (porcelain), Marie Antoinette\u2019s jewelry cabinet, commissioned by the queen in 1787 and placed in her grand bedroom at Versailles,<\/em> 1787, Paris, Mus\u00e9e du Louvre (inv. OA 5515), deposit at the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles\u00a9 Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, Dist. RMN \/ \u00a9 Christophe Fouin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside the manufactory, Boizot worked closely with the greatest bronzemakers of his time: Pierre Gouthi\u00e8re (1732\u20131813), Pierre-Philippe Thomire, and Fran\u00e7ois R\u00e9mond (1747\u20131812). For them, he designed and produced numerous models for clocks, candelabra, and relief ornaments. His first major commission, in fact, was a work of decorative art: a clock offered in 1771 by the city of Avignon to its governor, the Marquis de Rochechouart. That same year, he collaborated with Gouthi\u00e8re on the pavilion that King Louis XV had built for Madame du Barry at Fontainebleau, and he continued working for the royal favorite alongside Gouthi\u00e8re for the next two years. For Thomire, he provided numerous models destined for the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and for the sovereigns themselves: several firedogs for Versailles, and the magnificent jewelry coffer of Marie-Antoinette made by Schwerdfeger (1734\u20131818), among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Louis-Simon Boizot (figures after), Fran\u00e7ois R\u00e9mond (bronze maker), Dominique Daguerre (marchand mercier), Nicolas Sotiau (clockmaker), Clock with the Study and the Philiosphy, provided by Daguerre in 1788 for the Council Chamber at the Ch\u00e2teau de Saint-Cloud<\/em>, 1788, Versailles, Ch\u00e2teaux de Versailles et de Trianon (inv. VMB 14427.1)\u00a9 Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, Dist. RMN \/ \u00a9 Thomas Garnier<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fruitful collaboration between Thomire and R\u00e9mond and the renowned marchand-mercier<\/em> Dominique Daguerre also led the bronzemakers to call regularly upon Boizot for models. The figures of Study<\/em> and Philosophy<\/em>, created in 1776 for S\u00e8vres, were adapted for a clock \u00ab with the Study \u00bb executed in 1785 by R\u00e9mond for Daguerre and reproduced several times. The same figures reappear on a pair of firedogs made by R\u00e9mond (Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, inv. VMB 1334.1) and on a pair of oil lamps (J. Paul Getty Museum, inv. 88.SB.113), this time under Thomire\u2019s chisel.
A drop-front secretary in our collection also stems from the collaboration between Boizot, R\u00e9mond, and Daguerre. This remarkable piece, whose cabinetwork is attributed to Adam Weisweiler (1744\u20131820), was produced around 1790\u20131795, likely under the direction of the eminent marchand-mercier<\/em>. Adorned with rich gilt-bronze mounts chiseled by R\u00e9mond, it features on its lower drawer a delicate biscuit-relief frieze after Boizot\u2019s model The Offering to Ceres<\/em>, today preserved at the S\u00e8vres Manufactory and national Museums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adam Weisweiler (cabinetmaking attributed to), Fran\u00e7ois R\u00e9mond (bronzes attributed to), Dominique Daguerre (probably under the direction of), Claude Ramey (medalion after), Louis-Simon Boizot (frieze after), Lacquer drop-front secretary<\/em>, circa 1790\u20131795, Galerie L\u00e9age, former Alphonse then Edouard de Rothschild Collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Louis-Simon Boizot (under the direction of), The Offering to Ceres<\/em>, wax model on plaster, 1791, S\u00e8vres Manufactures et mus\u00e9es nationaux (inv. MNC 21702)\u00a9 S\u00e8vres, Cit\u00e9 de la c\u00e9ramique\/Thierry Ollivier<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sculptor to the king, director of the sculpture workshop at S\u00e8vres, and provider of models for the most important bronzemakers of the late 18th<\/sup> century, Boizot emerges as a discreet yet decisive figure in the decorative arts of the period. His work embodies a rigorous, balanced, and erudite vision of the Louis XVI style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibliography:<\/strong>
Mus\u00e9e Lambinet, Louis-Simon Boizot. 1743\u20131809, Sculpteur du roi et directeur de l\u2019atelier de sculpture \u00e0 la Manufacture de S\u00e8vres<\/em>, Somogy \u00e9ditions d\u2019art, 2001
Tamara Pr\u00e9aud, Guilhem Scherf (dir.), La Manufacture des Lumi\u00e8res. La sculpture \u00e0 S\u00e8vres de Louis XV \u00e0 la R\u00e9volution<\/em>, \u00c9ditions Faton, 2015
Pierre Enn\u00e8s, Brigitte Ducrot, Un d\u00e9fi au go\u00fbt. 50 ans de cr\u00e9ation \u00e0 la manufacture royale de S\u00e8vres (1740\u22121793)<\/em>, \u00c9ditions de la R\u00e9union des mus\u00e9es nationaux, 1997<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Excelling in both monumental sculpture and the decorative arts, Louis-Simon Boizot was an artist of many talents. In statuary, porcelain, and bronze, he infused an elegant neoclassicism that defined an era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5231,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","inline_featured_image":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5233","newsletter","type-newsletter","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"url_news1":{"simple_value_formatted":"","value_formatted":"","value":"","field":{"ID":438,"key":"field_64c00914a1189","label":"URL","name":"url_news1","aria-label":"","prefix":"acf","type":"url","value":null,"menu_order":0,"instructions":"","required":0,"id":"","class":"","conditional_logic":0,"parent":437,"wrapper":{"width":"","class":"","id":""},"only_front":0,"frontend_admin_display_mode":"edit","no_values_message":"","wp-typography":"none","default_value":"","placeholder":"","wpml_cf_preferences":1,"_name":"url_news1","_valid":1}}},"mcc_id":null,"mcc_type":null,"mcc_status":null,"mcc_create_time":null,"mcc_send_time":null,"mcc_emails_sent":null,"mcc_delivery_status":null,"mcc_content_type":null,"mcc_archive_url":null,"mcc_long_archive_url":null,"mcc_plain_text":null,"mcc_content_html":null,"mcc_recipients":null,"mcc_list_id":null,"mcc_list_name":null,"mcc_segment_text":null,"mcc_recipient_count":null,"mcc_settings":null,"mcc_tracking":null,"mcc_social_card":null,"mcc_report_summary":null,"mcc___links":null,"mcc__edit_lock":null,"mcc__edit_last":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter\/5233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/newsletter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5233"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter\/5233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5947,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter\/5233\/revisions\/5947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/galerieleage.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}