(12 January 1674 - 21 November 1734) was a French portrait painter, known for his portraits of the French and Jacobite nobility. Belle was born in Paris, the second child and only son of Jean-Baptiste Belle (born before 1642, died 1703), also a painter, and of Anne his wife (died 1705). Belle's birth and baptism are recorded in the parish register of the church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, and quoted in Eugene Piot's Le Cabinet de l'amateur for the years 1861 and 1862   Related Paintings of Alexis Simon Belle :. | Portrait of Louis XV of France | Marie Leszczynska | Portrait of Mariana Victoria of Spain | Portrait of Louis Francois, Prince de Conti | Self portrait |
Related Artists:
Jean Ranc
French portraits painter, 1674-1735 French painter, active also in Spain. His father was the painter Antoine Ranc (1634-1716), under whom he must have trained. From 1697 he lived in Paris, where he continued his apprenticeship in Hyacinthe Rigaud's studio. After working for some years as Rigaud's assistant, he joined the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris in 1703 and reached the rank of academician as a portrait painter in 1707. As Rigaud's protege he worked for the French court, painting portraits of Louis XV (1718; Versailles, Cheteau) and almost certainly other members of the royal family as well as of the aristocracy. He also painted some allegorical and mythological works, such as Vertumnus and Pomona
William Frederick Wells
A landscape painter in watercolor, Wells was the true founder of the Society of Painters in Watercolors in 1804 and its president in 1806-07. He studied under J. J. Barralet and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1795 to 1804 and at the Watercolor Society to 1813, when he resigned.
Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz
1815-1894 Spanish Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz Gallery Born in Rome, he was the son of the painter Madrazo y Agudo (1781-1859), and received his first instruction from his father. While still attending the classes at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, he painted his first picture, The Resurrection of Christ (1829), which was purchased by Queen Christina. Not long afterwards he painted Achilles in his Tent, and subsequently presented to the Academy The Continence of Scipio, which secured him admission as a member "for merit". While decorating the palace of Vista Alegre he took up portraiture. In 1852 he went to Paris, where he studied under Franz Winterhalter, and painted portraits of Baron Taylor and Ingres. In 1837 he was commissioned to produce a picture for the gallery at Versailles, and painted "Godfrey de Bouillon proclaimed King of Jerusalem". The artist then went to Rome, where he worked at various subjects, sacred and profane. Then he painted Maria Christina in the Dress of a Nun by the Bedside of Ferdinand III (1843), Queen Isabella, The Duchess of Medina-Coeli, and The Countess de Vilches (1845-1847), besides a number of portraits of the Spanish aristocracy, some of which were sent to the exhibition of 1855. He received the Legion of Honour in 1846. He was made a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Fine Arts on 10 December 1853, and in 1873, on the death of Schnorr, the painter, he was chosen foreign member. After his father's death he succeeded him as director of the Museo del Prado and president of the Academy of San Fernando. He originated in Spain the production of art reviews and journals, such as El Artiste, El Renacimiento, and El Semanario pintoresco. He died at Madrid in 1894.