Gabriel François Doyen

Gabriel François Doyen ( born May 20, 1726 Paris, † June 5, 1806 in Saint Petersburg ) was a French painter.

Gabriel Francois Doyen was a pupil of Carle van Loo, and formed from 1748 in Rome. In Rome he studied the works of Annibale Carracci, Pietro da Cortona, Giulio Romano and Michelangelo. He also visited other cities like Naples, Venice and Bologna.

1755 he returned to Paris, and was court painter to the Count of Artois in 1777 and taught at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in Paris.

At the outbreak of the French Revolution Doyen accepted an offer from Catherine II of Russia, and traveled to St. Petersburg, where he was director of the Academy in 1791. A highly effective color and correct drawing, especially truncated forms, are the merits of his paintings.