Saint Augustin Fighting Heresy, French School Of The Second Half Of The 18th Century

PÉCHEUX Laurent (1729-1821) Att. to

Large oil on canvas depicting "Saint Augustine fighting heresy against Felix the Manichaean"

French school of the second half of the 18th century

Dimensions:
Height. 240 cm
Long. 370 cm

Laurent Pécheux (Lyon, 1729-Turin, 1821)
French painter of the 18th century, was born on July 17, 1729 in Lyon. After studying at the Jesuit college in his native city, Pécheux continued his artistic training in Paris in the studio of Charles Natoire. Back in Lyon, he made contacts with sculptor Augustin Pajou and painter Gabriel-François Doyen.

Pushed by his family, Pécheux went to Rome in 1753. There, he met the artists Anton Raphaël Mengs and Pompeo Batoni, who dominated the Roman school. Two years later, he worked for a Scottish lord before accepting various commissions for convents and private individuals in Lyon.

In 1762, Pécheux was admitted to the Académie de Saint-Luc. Three years later, he travelled to Parma to paint portraits of the ducal family, including that of Marie-Louis de Parme, future Queen of Spain. From 1772, Pécheux taught at the Accademia del Nudo in Rome. He then moved to Turin, where he was appointed director of the Academy and created frescoes for the Royal Library and San Domenico church.

Recognized for his talent as a portraitist and history painter, Pécheux received commissions from important figures of his time, such as Pope Pius VI and Empress Catherine II of Russia. In France, he is best known for a cycle of twelve large canvases on the life of Christ at the Collégiale Notre-Dame in Dole, commissioned by Abbé Delamarre in 1762. Laurent Pécheux died in Turin on July 1, 1821.