Artists
Jean-Étienne Liotard
- Country:
- Switzerland
- Birth year:
- 1702
- Death year:
- 1789
Jean-Etienne Liotard (1702 Geneva 1789 Geneva) studided first with Daniel Bardelle in Geneva, and after 1723 with Jean-Baptiste Masse in Paris. In 1736 Liotard traveled to Florence and Rome, where he worked for Pope Clement XII (1730-1740) and other influential patrons. In 1738 he journeyed from Naples to Constantinople, where he remained for five years and acquired the nickname" le peintre turc. "He visited Vienna on his way back, and painted portrait of the Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780) and others in country society. Afterward he undertook travels to Italy. Germany, France, England, and the Netherlands before settling in his native city in 1758, where he resided until his death. Shorter trips in the 1760s and 1770s, however, led him again to Vienna, Paris, and London. Liotard was primarily a portraitist and was one of the most important pastel artists of his time. His works include Count Francesco Algarotti, c. 1745, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Madame d' Epinay, c. 1758, Musee Rath, Geneva,' and Empress Maria Theresa, 1762, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.