DUQUESNOY, François

Flemish sculptor, active mainly in Roma where he settled in 1618. He was a friend of Poussin. sharing a house with him for some time, and became a leading figure in circle devoted to classicalGLOSSARYRelating to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome (classical Antiquity). The classical world played a profoundly important role in the Renaissance, with Italian scholars, writers, and artists seeing their own period as the rebirth (the "renaissance") of classical values after the Middle Ages. The classical world was considered the golden age for the arts, literature, philosophy, and politics. Concepts of the classical, however, changed greatly from one period to the next. Roman literature provided the starting point in the 14th century, scholars patiently finding, editing and translating a wide range of texts. In the 15th century Greek literature, philosophy and art - together with the close study of the remains of Roman buildings and sculptures-expanded the concept of the classical and ensured it remained a vital source of ideas and inspiration. art. Alongside Algardi he came to be recognized as the outstanding sculptor in Rome after the great Bernini (who employed him on the decoration of the Baldacchino in St Peter's in 1627-8). and as with Algardi, his style was much more restrained and less BaroqueGLOSSARYThe period in art history from about 1600 to about 1750. In this sense the term covers a wide range of styles and artists. In painting and sculpture there were three main forms of Baroque: (1) sumptuous display, a style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the absolutist courts of Europe (Bernini, Rubens); (2) dramatic realism (Caravaggio); and (3) everyday realism, a development seen in particular in Holland (Rembrandt, Vermeer). In architecture, there was an emphasis on expressiveness and grandeur, achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow, and increasingly elaborate decoration. In a more limited sense the term Baroque often refers to the first of these categories. The development of the Baroque reflects the period's religious tensions (Catholic versus Protestant); a new and more expansive world view based on science and exploration; and the growth of absolutist monarchies. than Bernini's.

Duquesnoy's two major works are the statues of Sta Susanna (Sta Maria di Loreto, 1629-33) and St Andrew (St Peter's, 1629-40). He also produced many small bronzes that spread his fame, Duquesnoy was particularly renowned for his handling of putti, and it is curious that someone who so unaffectedly depicted the beauty and charm of children seems to have been mentally unstable; he was a chronic procrastinator and the diarist John Evelyn, visiting Rome in 1644, said that he 'died mad' because his St Andrew 'was placed in a bad light'.

Duquesnoy's father and brother were sculptors; Jérôme the Elder (c. 1570-1641) and Jérôme the Younger (1602-1654). His father is remembered mainly for the famous Manneken pis fountain (1619) behind the town hall in Brussels. His brother worked with Francois in Rome and took a somewhat diluted Baroque style back to Flanders with him. The tomb of Bishop Antonius Triest in Ghent CathedralGLOSSARYThe principal church of a province or diocese, where the throne of the bishop is placed. For reasons lost to time and tradition, a cathedral always faces west - toward the setting sun. The altar is placed at the east end. The main body, or nave, of the cathedral is usually divided into one main and two side aisles. These lead up to the north and south transepts, or arms of the cross, the shape in which a cathedral is usually formed. (c. 1651) is considered his finest work. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for his sticky end; he was executed by strangulation in Ghent for committing sodomy in a church.