1746 -1816 · French neoclassicism, history painting and portrait

Ancient stories, eloquent gestures, incisive portraits and still sensitive color make François-André Vincent an essential actor between Fragonard, Vien and David.

François-André Vincent was born in Paris in 1746 into a family of artists. His father François-Élie Vincent, miniaturist, passed on to him the precision of drawing and attention to the face. He then trained with Joseph-Marie Vien, one of the main architects of the return to Antiquity. Winner of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1768, Vincent stayed in Italy in the early 1770s. He studied masters, monuments and historical subjects there, while developing a more lively and colorful way than the severe neoclassicism which would soon impose itself. Received at the Royal Academy in 1782, he became a professor and rival of Jacques-Louis David. His history paintings seek the moment when a moral decision translates into gesture. Belisarius asking for alms, Arria and Paetus, Alcibiades with Socrates or Germanicus appeasing sedition depict courage, virtue and transmission. Zeuxis choosing Crotone's most beautiful daughters as models, commissioned for Louis XVI and presented in 1789, reflects directly on the making of the ideal: the ancient painter observes several bodies to compose a beauty which does not exist in any isolated model. Vincent also works on national history. Henry IV bringing food into Paris transforms the sovereign into a figure of clemency and public good. His portraits, self-portraits and artist studies show a look more direct, capable of capturing the intelligence of a face or the freedom of a pose. The Revolution disorganized orders but Vincent remained influential in the new institutions. In 1799 he married the painter Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, whose career he had supported. Appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts, he trained several artists despite declining health. Died in Paris in 1816, he played several artists despite declining health. Died in Paris in 1816, he embodied an original path of neoclassicism, less austere than David and always attentive to color, portrait and the theater of the story. Died in Paris in 1816, he embodied an original path of neoclassicism, less austere than David and always attentive to color, portrait and the theater of the story. Died in Paris in 1816, he embodied an original path of neoclassicism, less austere than David and always attentive to color, portrait and the theater of the story. Died in Paris in 1816, he embodied an original path of neoclassicism, less austere than David and always attentive to color, portrait and the theater of the story. Died in Paris in 1816, he formed several artists despite declining health. Died in Paris

Vincent transforms the story into a visible decision: an opposing look, hand or group is enough to make people understand the moral stakes of the scene.