Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, comte d'Angiviller ( Altona), director of the Bâtiments du roi under Louis XVI. Having had a successful military career during the reign of Louis XV, rising to the rank of Field Marshal, he also later found himself in charge of the household of the dauphin’s sons. During his tenure he developed a close relationship with the young duc de Berry, the future Louis XVI who, after his accession in 1774, appointed d'Angiviller directeur général des Bâtiments, Arts, Jardins et Manufactures de France, a position perhaps best described as a kind of general and powerful minister of fine arts. As a personal friend of the king, he had great resources at his disposal - at least at the beginning of the reign, before the economic situation in France became so desperate - and throughout his career he displayed impressive energy and discernment. He was a great supporter of the Neoclassical movement, approved countless important artistic commissions, and it had been one of his most ambitious project to transform the Grand Galerie of the Louvre into Europe's most important art museum; the Revolution intervened, and the revolutionary government would assume all the credit when the Musée du Louvre opened in 1793. Two years before, though, falsely accused of squandering public funds - perhaps more damning would be his aristocratic title and his friendship with the king - he had fled France. He died in Germany at the age of seventy-nine.
Three details of the above.
Miniature by Jean-Baptiste Weyler, 1779.
Another version of the miniature by Jean-Baptiste Weyler, set in a box by François Delanoy, 1779.
Stephen O’Donnell is a mid-career fine artist, writer, and singer/performer. His paintings are widely collected, both in this country and abroad. Entirely self-taught, he is perhaps best known for his self-portraits, work which most often exemplifies the portrait historié - in which a recognizable subject is portrayed in period costume or mythological guise, to dramatic or comic effect - as well as his small paintings of animals. His premier collection of short fiction, Half-Light, appeared in July of 2023. His work – both literary and visual – has appeared in the literary magazines/journals Nailed, Menacing Hedge, Buckmxn Journal, and Gertrude. He is married to writer and graphic designer Gigi Little, with whom he sometimes performs. Their book, The Untold Gaze – a collection of Stephen’s paintings paired with short fiction by thirty-three authors – was published in October of 2018. They live in Portland, Oregon.
The UNTOLD GAZE
The UNTOLD GAZE is a large format fine art book - 11x11 inches hardbound, 160 pages, full color - a collection of almost ninety of Stephen's paintings paired with short fiction and poetry inspired by his work. Included among the thirty-three authors are Lidia Yuknavitch, Tom Spanbauer, Monica Drake, Sam Roxas-Chua, and Whitney Otto. Click on the image above if you'd like more information on how to purchase the book.
