Pierre Subleyras

Pierre Subleyras (1699–1749) was born in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard and trained under Antoine Rivalz in Toulouse. After winning the French Academy's grand prix he left France in 1728 for Rome, where he spent the rest of his career. A Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee, painted for Frederick Christian of Saxony, won him admission to the Accademia di San Luca. Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga obtained for him the commission for the Mass of Saint Basil, reproduced in mosaic for St Peter's, and Pope Benedict XIV, whose portrait he painted, ordered two large pictures for his private apartments. He was an incisive portraitist and also produced genre pictures and illustrations of La Fontaine and Boccaccio. Worn out by overwork, he tried a stay in Naples and returned to Rome to die. His wife, Maria Felice Tibaldi, was a miniature painter. Here: St. Ambrose Converting Emperor Theodosius.