Germain, Thomas

Germain, Thomas
born 1673, Paris, Fr.
died Aug. 14, 1748, Paris

French silver-and goldsmith.

He studied painting as a boy and in 1691 was apprenticed to a silversmith in Rome. From 1706 to the 1720s, back in France, he worked on church commissions, such as a silver-gilt monstrance for Notre-Dame de Paris (1716). He became a master in the guild in 1720, and in 1723 Louis XV appointed him a royal goldsmith. Among his patrons were the queen of Spain, the king and queen of Naples, and the Portuguese court; his workshop produced some 3,000 silver objects for the palace at Lisbon over a 40-year period. He is best known for elaborate objects in Rococo style, though some of his pieces display a more restrained elegance.

* * *

▪ French silversmith
born 1673, Paris, France
died Aug. 14, 1748, Paris

      French silversmith, perhaps the best-known member of a distinguished family of silversmiths.

      The son of Pierre Germain, he studied painting as a boy under Louis Boullogne the Younger. About 1688 he was sent to Rome, where in 1691 he became apprenticed to an Italian silversmith. Soon he was employed as one of the artists on the altar of St. Ignatius for the Church of the Gesù. Other commissions followed, and from 1697 he was an independent silversmith. By 1706 he was back in France, where he was active until the 1720s on church commissions. Among such works was a silver-gilt monstrance (vessel to contain the Host) for Notre Dame in Paris, commissioned in 1716. He became a master in the guild in 1720, and in 1722 he made a silver-gilt sun (destroyed in 1790) for the coronation of Louis XV. Germain was granted apartments in the Louvre in 1723, when he was a royal goldsmith. From then until his death he was particularly active in making such objects as covered dishes, candlesticks, sconces, and plates for the king. He also produced numerous objects for special occasions, such as gold rattles on the birth of royal children. Although he is best known for flamboyantly elaborate objects in the Rococo style, some of his pieces were simple and elegant.

      Germain also had foreign patrons, including the elector of Cologne, the king of Portugal, the queen of Spain, and the king and queen of Naples. The Portuguese court was particularly important: during the 40-year period beginning in 1728 some 3,000 silver works are believed to have been made by the Germain workshop for the palace in Lisbon. For a wealthy Portuguese nobleman, the duke of Alveiro, he executed in 1730 an exceptionally fine surtout de table (table centrepiece), ornately decorated with cupids, hounds, and hunting horns.

      Also active in the political life of Paris, Germain was elected a city councillor and alderman in 1738 and reelected in 1741. At his own expense he designed and built a small church, Saint-Louis du Louvre (consecrated 1744; destroyed in 1810), where he was buried.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Germain, Thomas — (1673, París, Francia–14 ago. 1748, París). Orfebre francés. De niño estudió pintura, y en 1691 fue aprendiz de un platero en Roma. De regreso en Francia, entre 1706 y hasta la década de 1720, realizó trabajos por encargo en iglesias, como una… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Olivier Germain-Thomas — Activités Écrivain Producteur de radio Producteur de télévision Naissance 25 juillet 1943 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • GERMAIN (T.) — GERMAIN THOMAS (1673 1748) Fils d’un orfèvre du roi, Pierre Germain (1647 1684), Thomas doit aux leçons des peintres Boullongne et à la protection de Louvois une formation très complète. En 1688, il est en effet envoyé à Rome où il étudie… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Thomas Gamiette — Nacimiento 21 de junio de 1986 (25 años) Épinay sur Seine, Francia Nacionalidad …   Wikipedia Español

  • Thomas — Thomas, Albert Thomas, André Antoine Thomas, Ch. L. Ambroise Thomas, Dylan Thomas, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, Theodore * * * (as used in expressions) Adès, Thomas …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Germain, François-Thomas — ▪ French silversmith born 1726, Paris, France died Jan. 24, 1791, Paris  last of the distinguished Germain family of Parisian silversmiths. He took over the family workshop on the death of his father, Thomas Germain (Germain, Thomas) (q.v.), in… …   Universalium

  • Thomas — /tom euhs/ for 1, 2, 4 14; /taw mah / for 3, n. 1. an apostle who demanded proof of Christ s Resurrection. John 20:24 29. 2. Augustus, 1857 1934, U.S. playwright, journalist, and actor. 3. (Charles Louis) Ambroise /shannrddl lwee ahonn brddwannz… …   Universalium

  • Germain — (as used in expressions) Degas Hilaire Germain Edgar Germain Thomas Pilon Germain Saint Germain Treaty of * * * …   Universalium

  • Germain — (as used in expressions) Degas, (Hilaire Germain) Edgar Germain, Thomas Pilon, Germain Saint Germain en Laye, tratado de …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thomas Germain — (1673 14 August 1748) was the pre eminent Parisian silversmith of the Rococo.The son of a Paris silversmith Pierre Germain (none of whose work survives) he did not at first train in the family workshop, but began as a painter, spending the years… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”