Augustin de Saint-Aubin

Augustin de Saint-Aubin

Self portrait Augustin de Saint-Aubin, 1764
Born (1736-01-03)3 January 1736
Paris, France
Died 9 November 1807(1807-11-09) (aged 71)
Paris, France
Nationality French
Occupation engraver
Years active 1752-1800

Augustin de Saint-Aubin sometimes styled Auguste de Saint-Aubin (3 January 1736 - 9 November 1807), belongs to an important dynasty of French designers and engravers.

Biography

Augustin de Saint-Aubin was born on 3 January 1736 in Paris to the king's embroiderer Gabriel Germain de Saint-Aubin (1696-1756).[1] He came from a family of artists and designers, which included his six siblings: brothers Charles-Germain de Saint-Aubin and Gabriel-Jacques de Saint-Aubin, as well as Catherine Louise, Louis-Michel, Athanasius, and Agathe, who were collectively known as the "Book of Saint-Aubin".[2]

Trained by his brother, he later studied with Étienne Fessard, Nicolas-Henry Tardieu [1] and Laurent Cars. His first submission to the Salon was an etching in 1752.[3] He was approved by the Académie Royale in 1771, but did not graduate, as he failed to submit one of the required reception pieces.[1] He took many commissions for commercial purposes like bookplates, frontpieces, invitations, tradesmen’s cards, and programs,[4] but also illustrated books such as the Decameron by Boccaccio.[3]

In 1776 he was appointed as the official engraver at the Bibliothèque Royale (Royal Library). He later worked on etching the collection of antique gems owned by the Duc d'Orléans.[1] Emmanuel Bocher’s 1879 catalog contains over 1300 works by Augustin, but he is most remembered for his portraits[1] and his engravings of portraits by Charles-Nicolas Cochin the younger (1715-1790).[3] In his lifetime, Augustin was considered the most successful of the siblings, but he is the one about whom least is now known.[5]

He was married to Louise-Nicole Godeau.[5] He died 9 November 1807 in Paris.[2]

Selected works

Drawings

Validé ou la Sultane Mère (Augustin de Saint-Aubin, 1777)

Engravings

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Fahy, Everett (editor); Wrightsman, Jayne (editor) (2005). The Wrightsman pictures. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 222. ISBN 1-58839-144-2. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Augustin de Saint-Aubin (1736-1807)". Data BNF France (in French). France: Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Le Concert (The Concert) by L. Provost, 19th-century engraver [article]". Library of Congress. Washington, DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  4. Metropolitan Museum of Art (1999). The Robert Lehman Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 356–358. ISBN 978-0-870-99918-5. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Огюстен де Сент-Обен: Augustin de Saint-Aubin". Marty de Cambiaire. Russia: Marty de Cambiaire. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
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