Augustin de Saint-Aubin

La Baiser Envoye - Etching by Augustin de Saint-Aubin -Mid 18th century

Mid 18th century

Augustin de Saint-Aubin was born on January 3rd 1736 into a family of artists: his father Gabriel-Germain (1696-1756) was the King's embroiderer and his six surviving siblings (Charles-Germain (born in 1721), Gabriel-Jacques (1724), Catherine-Louise (1727), Louis-Michel (1731), Athanase (1734) and Agathe (1739)) were also artists. The eldest of the boys, Charles-Germain, became a draughtsman and embroiderer like his father, Gabriel-Jacques? is considered one of the most brilliant draughtsmen of the 18th century, Louis-Michel became a painter at the Sèvres porcelain manufactory and Athanase an actor, while his two sisters were also talented draughtswomen. During his lifetime Augustin de Saint-Aubin's fame as a draughtsman and engraver far out-shadowed that of his twelve-year-old elder brother Gabriel, but the Goncourt brothers initiated research into the French 18th century art sphere which gave back its pre-eminence to Gabriel’s works. Initially trained by his brother Gabriel, the young Augustin continued his apprenticeship with the engraver Etienne Fessard (1714 - 1777) and very quickly set his sights on becoming an engraver. Accepted to the Académie Royale in 1771, he was never admitted because he did not submit his reception piece. This did not prevent him from having a successful and very prolific career as an engraver, since his output is estimated at more than 1,300 engravings. Portraits - whether drawn or engraved - constitute the best part of his work and also the most sought-after, particularly by the Goncourt brothers, who owned several portraits among the dozen or so drawings of Augustin de Saint-Aubin they had collected/in their collection.