Jacques Stella

Jacques Stella(1596 – 29 April 1657) was a French painter, a leading exponent of the neoclassical style ofParisian Atticism.

Stella was born in Lyon. His father wasFrançois Stella, a painter and merchant of Flemish origin, but he died too soon to train Jacques in painting.Jacques's siblings were François the Younger and Madeleine (a sculptor and the mother of artists). He was the uncle ofAntoinette,Claudine, Françoise (a pastel artist) andAntoine Stella.Jacques Stella trained inLyonbefore spending the period from 1616 to 1621 in the court ofCosimo II de MediciinFlorence, working alongsideJacques Callot- Florentine art is a strong influence on all Stella's work. On Cosimo's death in 1621 Stella moved to Rome, where he spent the next 10 years and won a reputation thanks to his paintings, small engravings and painted work on stones (onyx,lapis-lazulior simply slate). Particularly working forpope Urban VIII, Stella was influenced in Rome by classicism and more specifically by the art ofNicolas Poussin, with whom he became an intimate friend.

Returning to Lyon in 1634 before moving to Paris a year later, Stella was presented toLouis XIIIbycardinal Richelieu. The king made him peintre du roi (meaning he lived from then on in theLouvre) and granted him a pension of 1000 livres. He returned many times to the theme of the childhood of Christ - five different versions by him of "Jesus discovered by his parents in the temple" exist. He took on many commissions and also decorated the chapelle Saint-Louis at thechâteau de Saint-Germain-en-Layeand the choir of theéglise Saint-François-Xavier(1641–42) alongside Poussin andSimon Vouet. From 1644 he took part in the decoration of thePalais-Cardinal. Towards the end of his life he devoted himself more and more to drawing. As well as his painting and drawing he was a major art collector throughout his life, building a collection of paintings by Poussin andRaphaeland drawings byMichelangeloandLeonardo da Vinci. He died in Paris.

Audacious and varied, his work moved easily between the realism of direct observation, the antique spirit and a higher religious inspiration. After his death his paintings and engravings were often sold as works by Poussin. His work was often engraved, allowing his art to be reach a wide audience, especially after his death under the impetus of his niece and heiress, the artist Claudine Bouzonnet-Stella (died 1697).

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Stella