Les gravures d'etienne delaune (1518-1583)

Etienne delaune's engravings (1518-1583)

• Auteur / Autrice : Christophe Pollet
• Direction : Albert Châtelet
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Art et archéologie
• Date : Soutenance en 1996
• Etablissement(s) : Université Marc Bloch (Strasbourg) (1971-2008)

Résumé

Etienne delaune (1518-1583), artiste francais, de religion reformee, fut orfvevre, medailleur, dessinateur des armures royales et graveur. La plus grande partie de sa carriere se deroula en france, principalement aupres de la cour de henri ii, mais a la suite du massacre de la saint-barthelemy il s'exila a strasbourg et en allemagne. Son oeuvre, abondante et d'une invention formelle exceptionnelle, peut etre consideree comme tout a fait representative de la tendance classique de l'ecole de fontainebleau, a la suite d'artistes comme primatice ou luca penni ; on peut cependant y deceler precocement l'influence des petits maitres allemands et, plus tardivement, celle du manierisme allemand de la seconde partie du 16e siecle. L'influence du courant de pensee humaniste transparait dans ses oeuvres a la signification souvent complexe. Ses gravures, generalement de tres petites dimensions, contribuerent largement a la diffusion des formes issues de l'ecole de fontainebleau dans toute l'europe jusqu'au milieu du 17e siecle ; leur influence s'exerca en particulier dans tous les domaines des arts decoratifs.

Etienne delaune was a french huguenot artist living from 1518 to 1583 and known as goldsmith, medallist, designer of royal armours and engraver. He lived in france where his career was proceeding mainly at the court of king henry ii until the saint bartholomew massacre compelled him to leave the country and fly to germany, more especially to strasbourg. His work, a rich one and conspicuous for the exceptional inventiveness of delaune in the matter of forms, may be considered as representative of the classical style of the school of fontainebleau, namely the works of artists like francesco primaticio or luca penni. But at an early stage appear more or less the influence of the lesser german masters (generally called "petits maitres allemands") and later, that of the german mannerism of the second half of the 16th century. Humanism also had an effect on his works the meaning of which often being a complex question. His engravings are generally of very small size ; they concurred to a large extent to the diffusion all over europe until the middle of the 17th century of the forms born of the school of fontainebleau and their influence was particularly important in all the spheres of the decorative arts.