Henri-Pierre Danloux

1753 – 1809

French painter and draftsman. Orphaned at an early age, Henri-Pierre Danloux was raised by his uncle, an architect. Around 1770 he studied under a genre painter and a history painter. He followed one of them to Rome in 1775 and then traveled throughout Italy. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Danloux preferred drawing the Roman countryside and portraits instead of ancient monuments. Settling in Lyon in 1783, Danloux established himself as a portraitist in the relaxed, informal manner of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. After moving to Paris in 1785, his reputation grew as a portraitist to the aristocracy. Danloux paid great attention to rendering fabrics, embroidery, and accessories in both oils and chalk. After another sojourn in Rome, Danloux returned to Paris in 1789, where he was commissioned to make portraits of the royal family. Soon the French Revolution forced him to flee to London. Influenced by fashionable English portrait painters like George Romney, Danloux excelled in family groups and portraits of children, whom he captured in natural, spontaneous poses. He also began painting history subjects. He returned to Paris in 1801 and spent his remaining years frustrated by his failure to establish himself as a history painter.

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