Jean-Étienne Lyotard was the thirteenth child in the family of the French merchant Antoine Lyotard, who left his native Montelimar "for some religious reasons" and took refuge in Geneva. Jean-Étienne and Jean-Michel proved to be artistically gifted children and showed an interest in drawing and painting from an early age. At that time, the Geneva school of painting did not yet exist (it would take shape by the end of the 18th century), but the technique of miniature and enamel was taught - crafts associated with the production of watches and jewelry. In his youth, Jean-Étienne studied with the miniaturist Daniel Gardel, then continued his education in Paris. But it was during the years of wandering around Italy that the artist discovers pastel, which will become his favorite technique and glorify the name of Lyotard throughout Europe.
Later, in his Treatise on Painting, Lyotard will explain: painting is “a mirror of all the most beautiful that the Universe offers us,” and if “strokes are not visible in the works of nature,” then they should not be shown in the picture either. Pastel made it possible to achieve the desired effect: soft and smooth color transitions, light chiaroscuro, and the finest finishing of details. The works of Lyotard, made in a realistic manner and strict style, differed from the works of Watteau or Boucher, representatives of the "gallant genre", who preferred the decorative elegance of rococo. And the portraits of Lyotard had nothing to do with the genre of the ceremonial portrait, popular at the French court. Lyotard considered himself an “artist of truth” and his main aspiration was credibility in painting, an image without embellishment ... which the noble ladies whose portraits he painted did not always like!
Marie Joseph von Sachsen
Not only the canvases of Lyotard, but also his appearance were distinguished by a unique style. From a trip to Constantinople, where he goes at the invitation of the English lord, Lyotard will return famous not only for his talent and extraordinary pastels, but also ... for his beard. In Europe, the artist will be dubbed a "Turk" for his spectacular beard and oriental clothes, and this will only add to his popularity. So Lyotard's life was no less eventful than his creative activity. Moreover, both of them took place in an endless string of trips throughout Europe - Moldova, Vienna, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, London ...
Portrait of the countess of Coventry
What can not be said about his twin brother: having received the education of an engraver in Paris and having made a short trip to Italy, Jean-Michel returns to Geneva. If he did not become as great an artist as his brother, then in family life, it seems, he succeeded much more: in any case, Jean-Michel was a calm, exemplary family man. Probably the brothers were too different in character to maintain a close relationship. In the letters - at least those known to art historians - Jean-Étienne does not mention his brother at all. By the way, the fact that brothers born on the same day were twins remains controversial. Reliable evidence of contemporaries about the similarity of artists Lyotard has not been preserved.
Madame Liotard and her daughter
Jean-Etienne and his wife had an incomprehensible relationship. A devout Dutch woman, not particularly beautiful and not particularly rich, forced her husband to cut off the legendary Turkish beard, and yet the remarkable appearance for many years was the artist's "brand name", like his original style. In a word, if Lyotard had a producer, he would not have allowed such an outrage to happen. But although Jean-Etienne agreed to cut off his brilliant beard under the pressure of his wife, he did not allow himself to be turned into a homebody and continued his endless travels to the courts of European monarchs. Here legends and historical truth often diverge. Either during these trips, Lyotard's personal life was much more eventful than life with his wife, or he worked tirelessly to feed his large family (the Lyotards had five children).
The Chocolate Girl
In any case, the legendary story of the creation of the famous pastel "Beautiful Chocolate Girl", written in Vienna in 1745, also testifies to the discrepancy between facts and myths. Who is behind the character of a lovely young girl carefully carrying a cup of hot chocolate on a silver tray? According to one version, the painting depicts Maria Theresa's maid, who struck the artist with her beauty. Another version of the story is reminiscent of the tale of Cinderella. The girl's name was Anna Baldauf, the daughter of an impoverished knight, she served as the Empress's maid. At court, the young prince Dietrichstein saw her, and fell in love with her without memory. Despite the protests of his family and the aristocracy, the prince married Anna, and as a wedding gift he ordered a portrait of the bride to Lyotard in the very clothes in which he saw her for the first time. And the last option: perhaps the girl worked in one of the Viennese pastry shops. One winter day, a young prince went there to taste hot chocolate. A cup with a steaming drink was brought to him by a beautiful chocolate girl, whose name was Anna Balthauf. The prince fell in love with her at first sight and married her. And on the day of the wedding, he ordered a portrait of the bride in the image of a beautiful chocolate girl from the court painter Lyotard ... All three versions could become the scenario of a romantic film. However, the art historian René Loche, one of the authors of Lyotard's biography, laughs when she is asked about this story, and assures that all these are fairy tales: the girl's name was not Anna Balthauf at all, neither the prince nor the artist had ever fallen in love with her, and moreover, Lyotard he did not attach any special significance to this pastel at all and much more appreciated ... portraits of his wife. So figure out where is the truth, and where is the legend.
A lady pouring chocolate
Be that as it may, the work of art created by Lyotard amazed contemporaries and continued to amaze for centuries. The portrait of the chocolate girl turned out to have no less fans than the model herself. And the legendary story had an equally legendary sequel. In 1881, the head of the American company Walter Baker Company came to Europe to learn the secrets of making a sweet drink. In the Dresden Gallery, he was struck by the image of a beautiful young maid serving chocolate to the table in a porcelain cup. Henry Pierce liked the pastel and the romantic story of its creation so much that he decided to make the image a trademark of his company. Most notably, the “Beautiful Chocolate Girl” became one of the first logos in the history of the economy. By the way, now the famous pastel is used as a logo by the Shokoladnitsa coffee shop chain, which is popular in Moscow. Yes, yes, a neat, charming maid with a tray - the pastel of that same Lyotard ...
The artist spent the last years of his life in Confignon, near Geneva. He paints still lifes, for which collectors and museums will subsequently fight. Lyotard dies in 1789, without waiting for the Great French Revolution, which destroyed the old order and brought new values to replace it, including in art. The artist's twin brother Jean-Michel, devastated by the revolution, will die in poverty in 1796.
Jean-Étienne, a great original of his time, would no doubt have liked many of the values of the 19th century. He has always been a supporter of independence - both in life and in art.
La liseuse
Portrait van een jong meisje, waarschijnlijk Caroline Russell
A young girl as Diana
children blowing bubbles
Portrait of Julie de Thellusson-Ployard
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Marie Antoinette of Austria, Future Queen of France
Portrait van Graaf Francesco Algarotti.
George, Prince of Wales
Jean-Étienne Lyotard and his "Beautiful Chocolate Girl"
To the 270th anniversary of the creation of the famous painting
"Chocolate Girl" can be attributed to the wonders of deception
vision in art, like bunches of grapes in a painting
an ancient artist who tried to peck at the birds"
M. Alpatov. Academician of art history
Who does not remember one of the gems of the Dresden Gallery, the elegant painting "Chocolate Girl", which depicts a young Viennese beauty gracefully carrying on a tray a fragile porcelain cup with a newfangled chocolate drink and a glass of clear transparent water? Written almost three centuries ago on parchment in the pastel technique, the picture impresses with its pictorial skill and poetic freshness.
The author of "Chocolate Girl" (other names - "Beautiful Chocolate Girl", German "Das Schokoladenm; dchen", French "La Belle Chocolati; re") is the Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Lyotard (1702 - 1789). He was considered one of the most mysterious masters of his time. There are many legends about his travels and adventures.
Lyotard was born in Geneva in the family of a jeweler from the French Protestants, who once had to emigrate to the Alpine Republic. He showed an aptitude for drawing as a child. He liked to draw portraits of friends, scenes from Roman history, was fond of miniatures and enamel painting. Having started studying in Gardel's workshop, he surpasses his teacher in a few months. Lyotard skillfully copies the canvases of old masters.
In 1725, the artist went to Paris for three years to improve his technique. A few years later he ended up in Rome, where he created many pastel portraits, including Pope Clement XII and a number of cardinals, this was the beginning of his fame in Europe.
I must say that Jean-Étienne had two main hobbies: painting and wanderlust, and much of the artist's life was made up of happy accidents and circumstances related specifically to travel. Once, thanks to an acquaintance with a noble Englishman, Lyotard makes a trip to the East (Messina, Syracuse, Malta, Smyrna, the islands of Delos and Paros), which ended in Constantinople. Here the artist "stayed" for as much as 5 years. He embodied his impressions in magnificent drawings, in which mastery and freedom of possession of technique (a bizarre ligature of patterns, lines, refined tones of a silvery pencil and red-red sanguine) were combined with a documentary accurate reproduction of the appearance of the characters, their costumes, the texture of fabrics and even the cut of clothes. People organically fit into the luxurious decoration of the premises with an abundance of carpets, draperies, tables, vases, and pillows. True, his oriental beauties sometimes resembled exquisite Parisians.
Returning to Europe, Lyotard continued to wear a long beard, robe and turban, for which he received the nickname "Turkish artist". He constantly moved from one country to another, communicated with interesting people, painted their portraits, leaving to his descendants a reliable "... external appearance of people who have long disappeared from the face of the earth." The synthesis of the decorativeness of French Rococo and the clarity of Dutch realism of the 17th century in the artist's work brought great success to Lyotard.
In 1745, fate brought Jean-Etienne Lyotard to Vienna, where in 1740 the imperial throne was taken by 23-year-old Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI. The empress gave the famous artist a warm welcome and instructed Prince Dietrichstein, a man close to the court, to take care of the guest.
Soon Lyotard creates here his Galatea - "The Beautiful Chocolate Girl" (82.5; 52.5 cm). The unpretentiousness of the composition, the light atmosphere and the almost photographic accuracy of the pastels, after the conventionality and mannerisms characteristic of the masters of the 18th century, made an impression of revelation on contemporaries. Pastel was perceived by them as a masterpiece on a par with the works of Chardin and Vermeer, with their characters deepened in their daily activities. The Venetian Count Algarotti, a connoisseur and lover of painting, wrote in one of his letters about the "Chocolate Girl": "As for the completeness of the work, we can say in one word: this is Holbein pastels."
A huge number of articles and studies are devoted to Lyotard's masterpiece, giving a detailed description of it. Here is a small selection of them: “... Nothing special happens in this simple genre scene, but it captivates with the poetic perception of life, great pictorial skill. ...Here everything caresses the eye - a pretty girl with an open, clear face and easy gait, calm, harmonious combinations of light colors - white, pink, golden brown, gray. ...The girl is depicted against an almost neutral background formed by a light wall and floor.
The artist places her to the left of the center of the picture, as if giving the heroine the opportunity to move forward. The direction of her movement is emphasized by the gesture of outstretched hands carrying an elegant lacquer tray, and by the lines of the floor. ...Looking at this picture, you admire how masterfully and accurately the subtlety of a porcelain cup is conveyed (pastel depicts the recently invented Meissen porcelain for the first time in European art), a glass of clear water reflects the window and refracts the line of the upper edge of the tray.
The texture of velvet, silk and lace is wonderfully conveyed. Some fabrics fall in heavy elastic folds, while others, light and mobile, shimmer with different shades of color, gently enveloping the figure. ... The colors of the "Chocolate Girl" clothes were chosen by J.-E. Liotard in soft harmony: a silver-gray skirt, a golden bodice, a shining white apron, a transparent white scarf and a fresh pink silk cap.
There is no reliable information about who the artist portrayed in the image of the “Beautiful Chocolate Girl”. In the most romantic and most beautiful version, the legend of the creation of the "Chocolate Girl" sounds something like this. One chilly winter day in 1745, Prince Dietrichstein dropped into a small Viennese coffee house to try a newfangled hot chocolate drink, which was much talked about at that time. A pleasant drink was also considered healing, and it was served with a glass of water. The young waitress Anna Baldauf, the daughter of an impoverished nobleman, served the aristocrat. The prince was so carried away by the grace and beauty of the girl that he immediately fell in love with her. To get to know Anna better, he now visited the coffee shop almost daily. Despite the strong resistance of the court nobility, in the same year Anna became the wife of Dietrichstein and an Austrian princess. As a wedding gift, the newlyweds ordered the painting "The Beautiful Chocolate Girl" from the artist Lyotard. The master created a masterpiece in which he depicted Anna in the costume of a chocolate waitress, singing love at first sight.
Lyotard's circle of life closed on June 12, 1789, when "the artist of kings and beautiful women" dies, returning to his homeland in Geneva. He created many wonderful works, especially pastels, but he remained famous in the memory of his descendants precisely as the author of The Chocolate Girl.
Since 1855, "Chocolate" has been in the collection of the famous Dresden Gallery.
During World War II, the painting, along with other masterpieces, was transported by the Nazis to the fortress castle of Königstein above the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland, not far from Dresden. Here, in a deep mined casemate in flat pine boxes, treasures from Dresden were discovered by Soviet troops. It is a miracle that they were not blown up during the retreat of the German troops, survived and did not have time to die from cold and dampness.
In 1955 Lyotard's pastels were shown at a farewell exhibition in Moscow among other German art trophies before being returned to the Dresden Gallery. The paintings were exhibited from May 2 to August 20, 1955. People came from afar, sometimes queuing for days to see the legendary treasures, among which the modest "Chocolate Girl" by Jean-Étienne Lyotard was not lost.
A life woven from legends. | Jean-Étienne Lyotard (1702-1789) - Swiss pastel painter "painter of kings and beautiful women""Painting is a mirror of all the most beautiful that the Universe offers us" - Jean-Étienne Lyotard
The mysterious circumstances of the birth of Jean-Étienne Lyotard (1702-1789), the thirteenth child in the family of Anna and Antoine Lyotard, an adventurous youth spent at the brilliant courts of European monarchs, a journey to Constantinople and returning from there as a "Turkish artist", strange relations with his wife and vague the history of the creation of the famous pastel "Beautiful Chocolate Girl" is far from all the secrets surrounding the personality of the Swiss master. The authors of the recently published 1600-page biography of Lyotard Rene Loche (Renée Loche) and Marcel Roethlisberger (Marcel Roethlisberger) admit that even for them there are many mysteries in the life and work of the artist.
But first things first.So, Jean-Etienne Lyotard was the thirteenth child in the family of a French merchant who left his native Montelimar "for some religious reasons" and took refuge in Geneva. Jean-Étienne and Jean-Michel proved to be artistically gifted children and showed an interest in drawing and painting from an early age. At that time, the Geneva school of painting did not yet exist (it would take shape by the end of the 18th century), but the technique of miniature and enamel was taught - crafts associated with the production of watches and jewelry. In his youth, Jean-Étienne studied with the miniaturist Daniel Gardel, then continued his education in Paris. But it was during the years of wandering around Italy that the artist discovers pastel, which will become his favorite technique and glorify the name of Lyotard throughout Europe.
Charlotte Marie Boissier
Later, in his Treatise on Painting, Lyotard will explain: painting is “a mirror of all the most beautiful that the Universe offers us,” and if “strokes are not visible in the works of nature,” then they should not be shown in the picture either. Pastel made it possible to achieve the desired effect: soft and smooth color transitions, light chiaroscuro, and the finest finishing of details.
Portrait of Marie-Joseph of Saxony, Dauphin of France" (1731-1767)
The works of Lyotard, made in a realistic manner and strict style, differed from the works of Watteau or Boucher, representatives of the "gallant genre", who preferred the decorative elegance of rococo. And the portraits of Lyotard had nothing to do with the genre of the ceremonial portrait, popular at the French court. Lyotard considered himself an “artist of truth” and his main aspiration was credibility in painting, an image without embellishment ... which the noble ladies whose portraits he painted did not always like!
Portrait of Mademoiselle Jacquet
Not only the canvases of Lyotard, but also his appearance were distinguished by a unique style. From a trip to Constantinople, where he goes at the invitation of the English lord, Lyotard will return famous not only for his talent and extraordinary pastels, but also ... for his beard. In Europe, the artist will be dubbed a "Turk" for his spectacular beard and oriental clothes, and this will only add to his popularity.
So Lyotard's life was no less eventful than his creative activity. Moreover, both of them took place in an endless string of trips throughout Europe - Moldova, Vienna, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, London ...
Woman in Turkish dress
What can not be said about his twin brother: having received the education of an engraver in Paris and having made a short trip to Italy, Jean-Michel returns to Geneva. If he did not become as great an artist as his brother, then in family life, it seems, he succeeded much more: in any case, Jean-Michel was a calm, exemplary family man.
Jean-Étienne Lyotard
Probably the brothers were too different in character to maintain a close relationship. In the letters - at least those known to art historians - Jean-Étienne does not mention his brother at all. By the way, the fact that brothers born on the same day were twins remains controversial. Reliable evidence of contemporaries about the similarity of artists Lyotard has not been preserved.
Portrait of the artist's wife, Maria Fargues (ca.1718-1784), in Turkish dress
Jean-Etienne and his wife had an incomprehensible relationship. A devout Dutch woman, not particularly beautiful and not particularly rich, forced her husband to cut off the legendary Turkish beard, and after all, a remarkable appearance for many years was the artist’s “trade mark”, like his original style. In a word, if Lyotard had a producer, he would not have allowed such an outrage to happen.
Wife and daughter?
But although Jean-Etienne agreed to cut off his brilliant beard under pressure from his wife, he did not allow himself to be turned into a homebody and continued his endless travels to the courts of European monarchs.
Girl with a doll, daughter of an artist and godson of Empress Maria Theresa
Here legends and historical truth often diverge. Either during these trips, Lyotard's personal life was much more eventful than life with his wife, or he worked tirelessly to feed his large family (the Lyotards had five children).
In any case, the legendary story of the creation of the famous pastel "Beautiful Chocolate Girl", written in Vienna in 1745, also testifies to the discrepancy between facts and myths. Who is behind the character of a lovely young girl carefully carrying a cup of hot chocolate on a silver tray? According to one version, the painting depicts Maria Theresa's maid, who struck the artist with her beauty. Another version of the story is reminiscent of the tale of Cinderella. The girl's name was Anna Baldauf, the daughter of an impoverished knight, she served as the Empress's maid. At court, the young prince Dietrichstein saw her, and fell in love with her without memory. Despite the protests of his family and the aristocracy, the prince married Anna, and as a wedding gift he ordered a portrait of the bride to Lyotard in the very clothes in which he saw her for the first time.
And the last option: perhaps the girl worked in one of the Viennese pastry shops. One winter day, a young prince went there to taste hot chocolate. A cup with a steaming drink was brought to him by a beautiful chocolate girl, whose name was Anna Balthauf. The prince fell in love with her at first sight and married her. And on the day of the wedding, he ordered a portrait of the bride in the image of a beautiful chocolate girl from the court painter Lyotard ...
Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, future Queen of France, at the age of seven
All three versions could have been scripted for a romantic movie. However, the art historian René Loche, one of the authors of Lyotard's biography, laughs when she is asked about this story, and assures that all these are fairy tales: the girl's name was not Anna Balthauf at all, neither the prince nor the artist had ever fallen in love with her, and moreover, Lyotard he did not attach any special significance to this pastel at all and much more appreciated ... portraits of his wife.
"Monsieur Levette and Mademoiselle Glavani in Turkish costume"
So figure out where is the truth, and where is the legend.
François Tronchin (art collector?) with a painting by Rembrandt (1757)
Be that as it may, the work of art created by Lyotard amazed contemporaries and continued to amaze for centuries. The portrait of the chocolate girl turned out to have no less fans than the model herself. And the legendary story had an equally legendary sequel. In 1881, the head of the American company Walter Baker Company came to Europe to learn the secrets of making a sweet drink.
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
In the Dresden Gallery, he was struck by the image of a beautiful young maid serving chocolate to the table in a porcelain cup. Henry Pierce liked the pastel and the romantic story of its creation so much that he decided to make the image a trademark of his company. Most notably, the “Beautiful Chocolate Girl” became one of the first logos in the history of the economy. By the way, now the famous pastel is used as a logo by the Shokoladnitsa coffee shop chain, which is popular in Moscow. Yes, yes, a neat, charming maid with a tray - the pastel of that same Lyotard ...
Portrait of Mary Adelaide of France in Turkish dress style
The artist spent the last years of his life in Confignon, near Geneva. He paints still lifes, for which collectors and museums will subsequently fight.
Lyotard dies in 1789, without waiting for the Great French Revolution, which destroyed the old order and brought new values to replace it, including in art. The artist's twin brother Jean-Michel, devastated by the revolution, will die in poverty in 1796.
Apollo and Daphne
Three Graces
Jean-Étienne, a great original of his time, would no doubt have liked many of the values of the 19th century. He has always been a supporter of independence - both in life and in art. Rene Loche admits that it was Lyotard's originality and his incomparable "taste for truth" that attracted her to the personality and work of the artist: "He watched how others work, and ... did everything in his own way!"
Portrait of George, Prince of Wales (later George III)
For readers interested in the truth about the Genevan artist, we recommend the most comprehensive biography of Jean-Étienne Lyotard in existence, the 1600-page feat of René Loche and Marcel Roethlisberger, published by Davaco. A special place in the book is occupied by the study of Jean-Michel Lyotard, the first detailed analysis of the work of the artist, known much less than his brother.
The collection of the Geneva Museum of Art and History - 87 pastels, drawings, sketches, oil paintings and miniatures by the Swiss artist.Julie de Thellusson Ployard
La Bella Lectora
Portrait of John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute (1744-1814)
Liotard Jean-Etienne Portrait of a lady at the court Sun
Portrait of Monsieur Bouër, a merchant in Genoa
Portrait of Madame Boere
Jeanne-Elisabeth de Sellon (1705-1749), Lady Tyrell, echtgenote Sir Charles van Tyrell
Lady Ann Somerset, Countess of Northampton (aged about 14)
Isaac Louis de Thellusson
Portrait of Maria van Frederike Reede-Athlon at the age of seven
Lady Ponsonby - born Caroline Cavendish (1719-1760) - dressed as Veneziano
Elisabeth Frederica Sophia, Duchess of Württemberg (1732-1780)
Isabella, Figlia di Madame Infanta
Portrait of Empress-Queen Maria Theresa, Sovereign of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary
Portrait of Maria Carolina of Austria (1752-1814)
Karl Joseph of Austria
The life of the Swiss artist is much less known than his pastels.
Original entry and comments on
Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Lyotard considered one of the most enigmatic painters of the 18th century. Legends about his travels and adventures have come down to our days no less than exciting stories about his paintings. Lyotard's most famous work is undoubtedly "Chocolate Girl". An interesting legend is connected with this painting: according to the testimony of the artist's contemporaries, here he depicted a waitress who married a prince, to whom she once served chocolate in a cafe. But about the character and moral qualities of this person, very contradictory evidence has been preserved ...
In Lyotard's painting "Chocolate Girl" we see a modest girl who humbly lowered her eyes, probably in front of a visitor to a coffee shop, to whom she is in a hurry to serve hot chocolate. According to one version, which was generally accepted for a long time, the artist depicted in this picture Anna Baltauf, a well-bred representative of an impoverished noble family. One day in 1745, Prince Dietrichstein, an Austrian aristocrat, a descendant of the richest ancient family, went to a Viennese coffee house to try a newfangled chocolate drink. He was so subdued by the modest charm of a sweet girl that he decided to marry her, despite the protests of his family.
Wishing to give his bride an unusual gift, the prince allegedly ordered her portrait to the artist Lyotard. However, it was an unusual portrait - the prince asked to portray the girl in the image in which he met her and fell in love at first sight. According to another version, the artist depicted in the picture the chambermaid of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, who struck him with her beauty.
Skeptics argue that in fact everything was much less romantic than in a beautiful legend. And even Anna was not Anna, but the simple Nandl Baltauf, who did not come from a noble family, but from an ordinary family - all her ancestors were servants, and women achieved life's blessings by often providing special services in the master's beds. It was precisely for such a fate that the girl was prepared by her mother, who insisted that in another way her daughter could not achieve either money or happiness.
According to this version, the prince first saw the girl not in a cafe, but serving in the house of one of his acquaintances. Nandl tried to catch his eye more often and in every possible way tried to attract attention to herself. The plan succeeded, and the smart maid soon became the mistress of the aristocrat. However, she was not satisfied with the role of "one of", and she ensured that the prince began to introduce her to his guests and stopped meeting with other mistresses.
And soon the world was shocked by the news: Prince Dietrichstein was marrying a maid! He really ordered a portrait of the bride to Lyotard, and when he told him about his chosen one, the artist said: “Such women always achieve what they want. And when she succeeds, you will have nowhere to run. The prince was surprised and asked what Lyotard meant, and he replied: “There is a time for everything. There will come a time when you yourself will understand this. I fear, however, that it will be too late. But, apparently, the prince did not understand anything: until the end of his days, he lived with his chosen one and died, bequeathing to her all his fortune. Not a single woman was able to approach him anymore. And the wife in her declining years managed to achieve honor and recognition in the world.
Since 1765, the “Chocolate Girl” has been in the Dresden Gallery, and during World War II, the Nazis took this picture, along with other gallery exhibits, to the Königstein Castle above the Elbe, where the collection was later discovered by Soviet troops. By what miracle the precious collection was preserved there, despite the cold and dampness of the cellars, art historians are still surprised.
The identity of the model in the portrait has not yet been accurately identified, but Lyotard's "Chocolate Girl" seems to fascinate everyone who comes to the Dresden Gallery, and is considered one of her best masterpieces. It is noteworthy that "Shokoladnitsa" became one of the first trademarks in the history of marketing. It is still used as a logo by a chain of coffee houses.
Lyotard also painted portraits of prominent people of his time - for example, the empress in the 18th century. ( 1702-12-22 )
Oriental costume liked Lyotard so much that in 1744 he depicted himself in this outfit in two portraits - one painted for the Florentine collection of portraits of artists, and the other, located in the Dresden gallery. From Vienna, Lyotard arrived in Paris at a time when the pastel genre of painting enjoyed special honor there, and the Marquise de Pompadour was a trendsetter. She wished to have her portrait by Lyotard and delivered him the title of royal painter and member of the academy. This was enough to make Lyotard a fashionable portraitist of the beauties who shone at that time at the French court. At the Paris exhibitions of 1751-1753, Lyotard's works appeared in abundance; but this was detrimental to them, as Latour's masterful pastel portraits were exhibited here next to them, with which comparison was too unfavorable for Lyotard.
After a four-year stay in Paris, Lyotard went to England (where he met Francis Cotes), and from there to Holland. He spent the end of his life in Geneva. In addition to many portraits, of which many were engraved, he executed several paintings. He himself engraved several etchings.
The artist's work had a significant impact on the work of Jean Hubert, with whom Lyotard was well acquainted.
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Notes
Literature
- Mariette. Abecedario (III), Portraits de la Galerie de Florence (IV);
- Nagler. Allg. Kunstler-Lex. (VII); Nouvelle biographie generale // publ. par Firmin Didot (vol. 3 1).
Excerpt characterizing Lyotard, Jean Etienne
- It's not him. This is the father of the one who wrote the proclamation,” said the adjutant. - That young one, sits in a hole, and it seems to him that it will be bad.One old man, in a star, and the other, a German official, with a cross around his neck, approached the conversation.
“You see,” said the adjutant, “this is a complicated story. Appeared then, about two months ago, this proclamation. The Count was brought. He ordered an investigation. Here Gavrilo Ivanovich was looking for, this proclamation was in exactly sixty-three hands. He will come to one: who do you get from? - From that. He goes to: who are you from? etc., we got to Vereshchagin ... an undereducated merchant, you know, a merchant, my dear, - the adjutant said smiling. - They ask him: from whom do you have? And most importantly, we know from whom he has. He has no one else to get from, as from the director's mail. But, apparently, there was a strike between them. He says: from no one, I composed it myself. And they threatened and asked, he stood on that: he composed it himself. So they reported to the Count. The count ordered to call him. "From whom do you have a proclamation?" - "I wrote it myself." Well, you know the Count! the adjutant said with a proud and cheerful smile. - He flared up terribly, and think: such impudence, lies and stubbornness! ..
- A! The Count needed to point out Klyucharev, I understand! Pierre said.
“It’s not necessary at all,” the adjutant said frightened. - There were sins for Klyucharev even without this, for which he was exiled. But the fact is that the count was very indignant. “How could you compose? says the Count. I took this "Hamburg newspaper" from the table. - Here she is. You didn’t compose, but translated, and translated it badly, because you don’t know French, you fool.” What do you think? “No, he says, I didn’t read any newspapers, I composed them.” “And if so, then you are a traitor, and I will put you on trial, and you will be hanged. Tell me, from whom did you get it? “I didn’t see any newspapers, but I composed them.” And so it remained. The count also called on his father: he stands his ground. And they put him on trial, and sentenced, it seems, to hard labor. Now the father has come to plead for him. But bad boy! You know, a kind of merchant's son, a dandy, a seducer, he listened to lectures somewhere and already thinks that the devil is not his brother. After all, what a young man! His father has a tavern here by the Stone Bridge, so in the tavern, you know, there is a large image of the Almighty God and a scepter is presented in one hand, a power in the other; so he took this image home for a few days and what did he do! Found the bastard painter...
In the middle of this new story, Pierre was called to the commander in chief.
Pierre entered Count Rostopchin's office. Rostopchin, grimacing, was rubbing his forehead and eyes with his hand, while Pierre entered. The short man was saying something, and as soon as Pierre entered, he fell silent and left.
- A! Hello, great warrior, - said Rostopchin, as soon as this man left. - Heard about your prouesses [glorious deeds]! But that's not the point. Mon cher, entre nous, [Between us, my dear,] are you a Mason? - said Count Rostopchin in a stern tone, as if there was something wrong in this, but that he intended to forgive. Pierre was silent. - Mon cher, je suis bien informe, [To me, my dear, everything is well known,] but I know that there are Masons and Freemasons, and I hope that you do not belong to those who, under the guise of saving the human race, want to destroy Russia.
“Yes, I am a Mason,” answered Pierre.
