Jean Baptiste Dieussart, also Jean Baptista Dusart (c. 1630 – after c. 1683) was a Flemish sculptor who worked in the Dutch Republic and mainly in Sweden. He mainly created lead statues of which only a few have survived to modern times.
While Dieussart was a Baroque sculptor and one of the first representatives a free-standing style of sculpture in Sweden (some consider him Sweden's first modern sculptor),[4] his work has been described as examples of a renaissance-like pseudo-classicism.[1][5][6] His work consists mainly of statues, for which he used different materials, although the majority of his known works were made from lead or gilded lead. Possibly due to metal fatigue caused by the softness of the material, however, few of Dieussart's works survive.
For Läckö Castle he is known to have created busts of various members of the De la Gardie family and is also believed to be the creator of two full sized statues of Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie and his father Jakob (originally created for Karlberg Palace,[1] where Dieussart also created decorative sculptures for the palace gardens)[7] that were later moved there.[1]
To decorate another palace owned by the De la Gardie family, namely Makalös palace, Dieussart created several lead statues, including a lead replica of a classical Diana statue.[8] Probably assisted by his stepsons he created several sculptures to decorate the gardens and fountains of Jakobsdal (now Ulriksdal) Palace.[5][9]
In 1667 he was contracted by De la Gardie to create a number of lead sculptures for the roof of the Riddarhuset (which was completed by the architect Jean de la Vallée between 1660 and 1674),[10][11] which he delivered in 1668,[1] and he was commissioned to complete the northern and southern portals of the building that had been begun by Heinrich Lichtenberg [sv], which he was still working on in 1669.[1]
His stepson Abraham-César replaced him as sculptor in De la Gardie's service between 1671 and 1672 and Dieussart is believed to have stayed in Sweden until around 1672, probably employed in his stepson's workshop,[1] but then may have moved back to the Netherlands, appearing again in Swedish records in 1677,[b] and returning to the Swedish mainland around 1679, probably returning to De la Gardie's service.[4] What became of him after 1680 is unknown, as are the date and place of his death.[c]
Most important works
Lead statues "Amor Dei" and "Amor Patriae" on the roof of the Riddarhuset.[11][15][6]
Garden sculpture group "Perseus and Andromeda" in the park of Jakobsdal Palace (no longer existing).[9][6]
Andromeda Cliff feature (remains) in Ulriksdal Palace park
Attributed works
Lead statues of Magnus Gabriel and Jakob De la Gardie, originally made for Karlberg Palace,[1] then moved to Läckö Castle, but later relocated to the De la Gardie family mausoleum in Varnhem Abbey.[6][16]
Statue of Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie in Varnhem Abbey (detail)
Statue of Jakob De la Gardie in Varnhem Abbey (detail)
^Dieussart is believed to be a son of the sculptor François Dieussart who was working in Rome between 1622 and 1636.[1] Supporting this is a letter written by him in which he mentioned that his father had worked for kings and princes in Germany, England and Brabant.[2]
^The sculptor Jean Baptiste Dieussart who worked in Riga (then in Swedish Livonia) between 1677 and 1679 was probably him.[12][13]
^A different sculptor by the name of Jean Baptiste Dusart worked in Moravia from around 1695 to 1706, but the name similarity is considered to be a coincidence.[14]
^ abcBertil Waldén[in Swedish] (1942), Nicolaes Millich och hans krets: studier i den karolinska barockens bildhuggarkonst (in Swedish), Stockholm: Saxon & Lindströms förlag
^ abErik A. de Jong (2005), "Of Plants and Gardeners, Prints and Books: Reception and Exchange in Northern European Garden Culture, 1648-1725", in Michel Conan (ed.), Baroque Garden Cultures: Emulation, Sublimation, Subversion, vol. 25, Dumbarton Oaks
^Paul Campe (1934), "Die Hausteinportale des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts in Riga und die damaligen rigaschen Bildhauer und Steinmetzen", Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Altertumskunde zu Riga. Vorträge aus den Jahren 1932 und 1933 (in German), Riga: E. Bruhns, p. 14, hdl:10062/18495
