A 4-volume Monograph

This significant four-volume monograph presents the art and personality of Pierre Puget, a major sculptor of the Louis XIV era.

Originally from Marseille, trained in Italy, active in Provence and Genoa, Pierre Puget created original sculptures characterized by their power, dynamism, and ability to express pain or grace.

Describing himself as an architect, painter, and sculptor, Puget left behind a complex body of work, dominated by imposing sculptures such as the dramatic Milon de Crotone held at the Louvre, the Atlantes of the Toulon City Hall, as well as the marbles of the churches of Genoa.

As a prolific painter and draftsman, he notably produced magnificent marine paintings on vellum while overseeing the decoration of the king’s ships.

As an architect, he designed the Hospice de la Vieille Charité in Marseille, which also illustrates his ambitious projects for Toulon or Marseille through drawings.

The Auhor: Klaus Herding

Klaus Herding (1939-2018) studied art history, philosophy, and classical archaeology in Tübingen, Munich, Lille, and Münster. In 1968, he obtained his doctorate from the University of Münster by writing a thesis on Pierre Puget.

After teaching and conducting research at various universities in Berlin, Klaus Herding became a professor of art history at the University of Hamburg from 1975 to 1993. He wrote his habilitation thesis on Diogenes of Sinope as a symbol of the Enlightenment.

In 1993, he was appointed to the University of Frankfurt am Main, where he held the chair of European art history until his retirement from teaching in 2005. In 2010, he curated an exhibition on Gustave Courbet in the same city.

Klaus Herding has also been a visiting professor in Bordeaux, Lyon, New York, and Paris.

His work primarily focuses on art and art theory of the modern and contemporary period, particularly on the Baroque, Enlightenment art, and the French Revolution, as well as on caricature and the psychosocial conditions of art.

Since his thesis on Pierre Puget in 1968, he has continuously pursued research on the artist.

The scientific editor: Geneviève Bresc-Bautier

Geneviève Bresc-Bautier, paleographer archivist and former member of the French School of Rome, was a curator in the Sculpture Department of the Louvre Museum from 1976. She directed this department from 2004 to 2014.

Thanks to the museum’s rich collection, she has been interested in the study of sculpture from the 16th and 17th centuries. She is the author of numerous books and articles on this field, including a monograph on Puget’s Milon de Crotone and the publication of unpublished documents on this sculptor.

Geneviève Bresc-Bautier also studied Puget’s student, Christophe Veyrier, on the occasion of an exhibition held in Montpellier in 2019.

Her work and career at the Louvre have allowed her to collaborate regularly with Klaus Herding.

Summary

Volume 1
The artists and his work – Part 1

• Historical and social conditions
• The life of Puget
• Puget the sculptor

Volume 2
The artists and his work – Part 2

• Puget the architect
• Puget the painter
• Puget the draftsman
• The Puget school: the Veyrier
• The reception of Puget

Volume 3
Catalogue raisonné

• Sculpture catalog
• Architectural works catalog
• Painting catalog
• Drawing catalog
• Veyrier’s works catalog

Volume 4
Documents and anthology. Annexes

• Letters
• Archival documents
• Anthology of artistic literature
• General list of abbreviations, measurements, and currencies
• Biographical landmarks
• Manuscript sources and bibliography
• Index