Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée was a French rococo painter and student of Carle van Loo. He won the Grand Prix de Rome for painting in 1749 and was elected a member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in 1755. His younger brotherJean-Jacques Lagrenée was also a painter. Lagrenée's notable career appointments included: In July 1804, Napoleon I conferred upon Lagrenée the rank of chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. Lagrenée died in June 1805, aged 80 years and 6 months.
Early life
Lagrenée was born in Paris on 30 December 1724 and from an early age he showed promise in drawing and painting. During his youth, master painter members of the French Royal Academy offered a rolling programme of courses, open to the public, in life drawing and the principles and techniques of art. These courses gave academy members a chance to identify and nurture six of the most gifted young students in any given year and offer them a place on a scheme known as the École royale des élèves protégés, a scheme which offered free tuition with a small stipend, for three years, preparing students for Prix de Rome competitions. After being selected for and completing this three-year programme, under the tutelage of Carle van Loo, Lagrenée won the Grand Prix de Rome on his first attempt in 1749, with the painting Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh.
After returning from Rome in 1753, Lagrenée set to work on a large painting - The abduction of Dejaneira by the centaur Nessus - which, when finished in 1755, was the reception piece which earned him membership of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture, by a unanimous vote. By this time, Lagrenée was already considered something of a celebrity.
On Monday 10 July 1758, at the age of 33, Lagrenée married 16-year-old Anne-Agathe Isnard. Fifty-five years later, on 19 June 1805, Lagrenée's death certificate recorded that they were still married.
Paris, musée du Louvre : L'Enlèvement de Déjanire par le centaure Nessus, Mercure, Aglaure et Hersé, Psyché surprend l'Amour endormi, La Mort de la Femme de Darius, L'Amour des Arts console la Peinture des écrits ridicules et envenimés de ses ennemis
Collection of mythological subjects, after six paintings, acquired by the administration royale for the manufacture d'Aubusson, 1759:
* Aurore enlève Céphale, whereabouts of cartoon unknown.
* Jupiter transformé en taureau enlève Europe, carton conserved at the :fr:musée des Arts décoratifs de Paris|musée des Arts décoratifs de Paris
* Vénus aux forges de Lemnos, cartoon described by Denis Diderot after the salon of 1759, tapestry conserved at the :fr:musée départemental de la tapisserie d'Aubusson|musée départemental de la tapisserie d'Aubusson
* Borée enlève Orythie, whereabouts unknown.
* Thétys reçoit Apollon, cartoon conserved at the musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris
* Mercure apporte Bacchus aux nymphes de Nysa, also known as La Naissance de Bacchus, tapestry conserved at the :fr:Mobilier National|Mobilier National, Paris.
