Jean Le Pautre

Background

Jean Le Pautre was born in Paris on June 28, 1618. He was the elder brother of the architect Antoine Le Pautre and the father of Jacques Le Pautre.

Education

Le Pautre was apprenticed to a carpenter and builder and in addition to learning mechanical and constructive work developed considerable facility with the pencil.

Achievements

• Le Pautre's designs, which were innumerable in quantity and exuberant in fancy, consisted mainly of ceilings, friezes, chimney-pieces, doorways and mural decorations; he also devised fire-dogs, sideboards, cabinets, console tables, mirrors and other pieces of furniture; he was long employed at the Gobelins. His work is often excessively flamboyant and over-elaborate; he revelled in amorini and swags, arabesques and cartouches. His chimney-pieces, however, were frequently simple and elegant. His engraved plates, almost entirely original, are something like 1500 in number and include a portrait of himself.

Membership

Jean Le Pautre became a member of the academy of Paris in 1677.

Connections

Father:

Jacques Le Pautre

Brother:

Antoine Le Pautre

Antoine Le Pautre was an architect.