Abraham-César Lamoureux

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Abraham-César Lamoureux
Equestrian statue of Christian V (bronze copy) at Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen
Bornbetween c. 1640 and 1650
Metz, France
DiedApril 1692
Copenhagen, Denmark
Resting placeTrinitatis Church, Copenhagen, Denmark
Known forSculpture
Notable workEquestrian statue of king Christian V, Copenhagen
StyleBaroque sculpture
SpouseAnna Thiel
Patron(s)Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie; Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp; Christian V of Denmark

Abraham César Lamoureux (c. 1640, Metz – c. April 1692, Copenhagen) was a French sculptor and stonemason who worked in Sweden and in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] He is best known for creating the first equestrian statue in northern Europe.

Life and work[edit]

Little is known about Lamoureux's early years. He was born in Metz in the Lorraine region of France, and he had a younger brother Claude,[2] also a sculptor, as well as a younger sister Magdalena,[3] who was born in Hamburg (Germany) around 1660.[4] Their father, whose first name is unknown, was a sculptor who had worked in the Netherlands, in England and in Hamburg, and might have been an assistant of the sculptor François Dieussart.[3] Lamoureux first appears around 1664 in Stockholm with his stepfather, the sculptor Jean Baptiste Dieussart,[5] when the latter entered service with count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, who was his stepfather's main employer and patron until around 1668.[6] In the same year Lamoureux's mother, who was originally from Antwerp,[7] died in Stockholm.[5] In the years before 1668, Lamoureux (and presumably also his brother Claude) is believed to have been an apprentice or assistant of his stepfather.[8]

Around 1670 he was an apprentice of the sculptor Nicolaes Millich and lived with him in Stockholm's Bonde Palace,[9] but absconded to Güstrow to his stepfather's brother Charles Philippe Dieussart,[3] who at the time was court architect and sculptor of Duke Gustav Adolph of Mecklenburg, and in 1671 Lamoureux, like his stepfather before him, entered the service of count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie.[5]

Early in 1675 Lamoureux married Anna Thiel, a daughter of Hans Thiel, farrier and Elder of the guild of weaponsmiths,[1] and in 1677 he became court sculptor for Queen Hedvig Eleonora at Jakobsdal Palace, in September 1678 he was contracted by his former employer, De la Gardie, to create sculptures of two seahorses, a Neptune and a dragon for Karlberg Palace.[10]

In 1681, Abraham César Lamoureux and his family, including his brother Claude his sister Magdalena and her husband, the Swedish sculptor and stonemason Johann Gustav Stockenberg,[3] moved to Copenhagen in Denmark (it has been speculated that Lamoureux was convinced to leave Swedish Service by Jens Juel)[4] to become court sculptor for Christian V of Denmark,[2] where he received an annual salary of 400 rigsdalers, which was topped up by an additional 200 rigsdalers from 1685.[1] He is likely to have started work on the Equestrian statue of Christian V around 1682, when he first purchased materials for its creation,[2] and 1687 its installation on Kongens Nytorv was witnessed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger.[11]

Abraham César Lamoureux died in Copenhagen around April 1692 where he was buried in the Trinitatis Church on 27 April 1692.[1]

Most important works[edit]

Original equestrian statue of Christian V, now displayed in The Lapidarium of Kings museum, Christian IV's Brewhouse, Copenhagen

Unfortunately there do not seem to be any works completed by Lamoureux in Sweden that still exist.[8] All of his known surviving works are located in Denmark:

Attributed works[edit]

A number of other works have been attributed to Lamoureux. Among these are:

Literature[edit]

  • Hans Vollmer [in German], ed. (1928), "Lamoureux, französ. Bildhauerfamilie", Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart (in German), vol. 22, Leipzig: E. A. Seemann, p. 270
  • Birgitte B. Johannsen; V. Thorlacius-Ussing (1979–1984), "Abraham César Lamoureux", Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (in Danish) (3rd ed.), Copenhagen: Gyldendal
  • "Lamoureux, Abraham-César", Svenskt konstnärslexikon (in Swedish), vol. III, Malmö: Allhems Förlag AB, 1957, p. 449, LIBRIS ID: 8390296
  • Frederik Julius Meier [in Danish] (1887), "l'Amoureux Abraham César", in Carl Frederik Bricka (ed.), Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (in Danish), vol. I. BIND Aaberg - Beaumelle, Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, p. 196

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Abraham César Lamoureux", Kunstindeks Danmark: Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon (in Danish), Copenhagen: Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces, retrieved 27 February 2019
  2. ^ a b c Marius Audin [in French] (1912), "Histoire d'un tailleur d'images : François Lamoureux", Revue d'histoire de Lyon: études, documents, bibliographie (in French), Lyon: A. Rey, pp. 358–385
  3. ^ a b c d Bertil Waldén [in Swedish] (1942), Nicolaes Millich och hans krets: studier i den karolinska barockens bildhuggarkonst (in Swedish), Stockholm: Saxon & Lindströms förlag, p. 162
  4. ^ a b Emil Marquard (1925), "Abraham Cæsar Lamoureux", in Østifternes historisk-topografiske selskab (ed.), Fra arkiv og museum, Serie 2 (in Danish), Copenhagen: Arnold Busck, pp. 245–247, retrieved 28 February 2019
  5. ^ a b c Bertil Waldén (1945), "Jean Baptista Dieussart", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish), retrieved 28 February 2019
  6. ^ Hahr, August [in Swedish] (1905), "Konst och konstnärer vid Magnus Gabriel de La Gardies hof: bidrag till den svenska konstforskningen", Skrifter utgivna av Kungl. Humanistiska Vetenskapssamfundet i Uppsala (in Swedish), vol. IX, Uppsala: Akademiska Bokhandeln, retrieved 5 March 2019
  7. ^ Nils Bohman [in Swedish], ed. (1944), "Dieussart, Jean Baptista", Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok. 2. C-F (in Swedish), Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag, p. 262
  8. ^ a b Henrik Cornell [in Swedish] (1966), Den svenska konstens historia. (in Swedish), vol. 1, Stockholm: Aldus/Bonnier
  9. ^ Åke Meyerson [in Swedish] (1985–1987), "Nicolaes Millich", Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish), retrieved 28 February 2019
  10. ^ Gustaf Upmark [in Swedish] (1904), Svensk byggnadskonst 1530-1760 (in Swedish), Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & söner förlag, p. 165
  11. ^ Osvald Sirén (1914), Nicodemus Tessin d. y:s studieresor i Danmark, Tyskland, Holland, Frankrike och Italien; anteckningar, bref och ritningar (in Swedish), Stockholm: Norstedt, p. 65
  12. ^ Fulton, Torbjörn. "Lamoureux [L’Amoureux], Abraham-César", Grove Art Online, Oxford University Press (accessed 8 September 2023), Grove Art Online (subscription access).
  13. ^ Hjalmar Friis (1933), Rytterstatuens historie i Europa fra oldtiden indtil Thorvaldsen (in Danish), Copenhagen: Gyldendal
  14. ^ Vagn Poulsen; Erik Lassen; Jan Danielsen, eds. (1973), "Abraham-César Lamoureux", Dansk kunsthistorie: Billedkunst og skulptur (in Danish), vol. 2, Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag, p. 311
  15. ^ Otto Andrup [in Danish] (1918), Fortegnelse over Malerierne paa Gisselfeld Kloster samt i H. Exc. Grev Danneskjold-Samsøe til Grevskabet Samsøes Privatbesiddelse (in Danish), Copenhagen: Grœbes Bogtrykkeri, p. 15
  16. ^ "Herkules". Borchs Kollegiums gamle websted (in Danish). 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
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