Pesne, Antoine

PAINTER (FRANCE)
BORN 23 May 1683, Paris - DIED 5 Aug 1757, Berlin
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Kirchhof Jerusalem und Neue Kirche I, Halleschen Tor, Kreuzberg (Abt. 1/1 56 (111-HW-4), near Zossener Strasse entrance)

Antoine Pesne studied painting with his father Thomas Pesne and with his uncle Charles de la Fosse. From 1704 to 1710 he lived in Italy to continue his studies. In 1710 king Frederick I of Prussia appointed him court painter in Berlin.

He often worked in Berlin, but also in Dessau, Dresden and even London and Paris. In 1722 he became the director of the Academy of Arts in Berlin. Pesne was a favourite of King Frederick II and he painted him together with his sister at Sanssouci.

Architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was first his pupil and then his lifelong friend. They were both buried at the German Church at the Gendarmemarkt in Berlin. When that church was rebuilt in 1881 their remains were transferred to the Kirchhof Jerusalem und Neue Kirche I, where they share a grave.

Related persons
• painted Friedrich II der Grosse, König von Preussen
• was teacher of Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus von
• was teacher of Rode, Bernhard

Images

The grave of G.W. Knobelsdorf and A. Pesne at the Kirchhof Jerusalem und Neue Kirche I, Halleschen Tor, Kreuzberg, Berlin. Both were moved here from the Deutsche Dom (Berlin) in 1881.
Picture by Androom (08 Apr 2003)

 

Sources
Ehrengrabstätten des Landes Berlin, Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Berlin, 2002
Antoine Pesne - Wikipedia


Petacci, Claretta

Published: 23 May 2010
Last update: 04 Jan 2022