Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

(b Paris, 26 Jan 1714; d Paris, 21 Aug 1785). French sculptor. He was, along with Etienne-Maurice Falconet and Augustin Pajou, one of the most eminent sculptors in mid-18th-century France. His best-known work is the statue of Mercury Attaching his Winged Sandals, and he produced many other works on mythological themes. His monument to Maurice, Mar?chal de Saxe (marble and bronze; Strasbourg, St Thomas) is one of the most spectacular mausolea of its century. Although he was not a prolific portrait sculptor, his busts are notable for their naturalness and delicacy of technique.

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Pigalle, Jean-Baptiste (1714-85). The greatest and most successful French sculptor of the 18th c. Employed by Madame de Pompadour and the crown, Pigalle was one of the first to explore dramatic forms of naturalism in monumental commissions. His most famous works are the Tomb of the Maréchal de Saxe (1753-76), showing the young hero striding confidently to his death, and the shocking, life-size, gaunt nude of Voltaire (1776).

[Patsy Campbell]

Pigalle, Jean Baptiste (zhäN bätēst' pēgäl') , 1714–85, French sculptor. His skill embraced a wide range, from small works appealing to the taste of the court to large and elaborate tombs. Among the latter are the mausoleum of Marshal Maurice of Saxony, Church of St. Thomas, Strasbourg, and that of the Count d'Harcourt, Notre-Dame de Paris. In the Louvre are Love and Friendship, the Child with Cage, and the graceful Mercury Tying his Sandal, considered his masterpiece.

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