Suvée, who was born in Bruges, moved to Paris when he was twenty years old. Eight years later, and prior to Jacques-Louis David, who became a figurehead of Neoclassicism, he won the Prix de Rome for the work he is sketching here: The Combat Between Minerva and Mars. He donated this self-portrait to the Bruges Academy after being received with magnificent celebrations in his native town. Suvée later became director of the Académie de France in Rome.
This is the man who, from the 1750s onwards, helped propel the art of painting in Bruges to new international heights: Joseph-Benoît Suvée. The artist looks back at us from over his shoulder. He is sketching in white chalk.
Suvée was born in Bruges. He trained at the Bruges Academy, one of the oldest art schools in the Southern Netherlands. It had an excellent reputation. Throughout his life, Suvée would always refer to his formative years in Bruges. A number of other painters, whose work you can see in this room, also trained at the Bruges Academy and forged European careers.
Joseph-Benoît Suvée was no different. He moved to Paris when he was twenty, where he won the Prix de Rome at the age of twenty-eight. Here he pictures himself with the preparatory drawing of the award-winning picture: The Battle between Mars and Minerva. In the competition, Suvée triumphed over Jacques-Louis David, who later became the great figurehead of French Neoclassicism. Suvée’s victory led to great celebrations in his hometown. In return, Suvée donated this accomplished self-portrait to the academy of his youth.
Thanks to the Prix de Rome, Suvée was able to study classical, renaissance and baroque art in Italy. Upon his return to Paris, he became a teacher at the famous Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. A number of Bruges painters, whose work you can see here, were his pupils.
Their style is neoclassical. Neoclassical art is balanced, refined and clearly delineated. It is cool and also somewhat static. Two genres of painting are particularly important, as you can see here: the portrait, and also history paintings depicting Greek or Roman subjects. Suvée also became a much sought-after portraitist.