Jean Baptiste Ii Lemoyne Enter a
feeling, not
a gallery.
Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Jean Baptiste Ii Lemoyne
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne II: Life and Legacy Early Life and Training Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne II (1704 – 1778) was a celebrated French sculptor, primarily known for his expressive portrait busts and statues. Born in Paris, France, he initially pursued a career as an engraver, studying with Laurent Cars and working for the printseller Gabriel Huquier. This early experience provided him with foundational skills that would later inform his scul
ptural practice. Artistic Development and Influences Lemoyne began creating portraits in both oil and, increasingly, pastel during the 1740s. His career developed somewhat in the shadow of Maurice Quentin de la Tour, considered the master of French pastel portraiture. A notable event illustrating this dynamic occurred at the Salon of 1750, where Lemoyne exhibited a pastel portrait *of* La Tour, only to find La Tour exhibiting his own…