1716 -1809 · Montpellier, Rome, Paris and first neoclassical generation

Kind antiquity, clear composition and decisive pedagogy place Joseph-Marie Vien on the transition from Rococo to French neoclassicism.

Joseph-Marie Vien was born in Montpellier in 1716 and won the Grand Prix de Peinture in 1743. His stay in Rome developed a lasting interest in antiquities, archaeological decorations and ancient daily life. Returning to Paris, he first adapted this vocabulary in a still light and graceful way, sometimes called the Greek way. Little by little, the composition becomes clearer, the drawing strengthens and historical or religious subjects gain sobriety. His young daughters, loves, heroes and saints retain an elegant sensitivity while announcing the return to classical order. Vien above all plays a major role as a teacher: Jacques-Louis David, Pierre Peyron, Jean-Baptiste Regnault and Joseph Benoît Suvée are among his students. Director of the Royal Academy in 1789, then member of the Institut de France at the age of eighty, he went through the institutional transformations of the end of the century. The Annunciation, the Resurrection of Lazarus, Young girls adorning sleeping Love with flowers or Venus saved by Iris show the extent of a repertoire linking religion, myth and modern antiquity. The "Joseph-Marie Vien" selection notably compares The Annunciation and The Resurrection of Lazarus.

Comes softens the rupture: he introduces Antiquity by grace, then leads an entire generation towards neoclassical rigor.