Michel Ange Houasse (1680-1730) was a French painter who spent most of his career at the court of Philip V of Spain. Trained in the studio of his father, René-Antoine Houasse, a follower of Charles Le Brun, he was admitted to the Académie royale in Paris in 1707 and named painter in ordinary to Louis XIV in 1710. In 1715 Philip of Anjou, by then king of Spain, summoned him to Madrid.
He painted many portraits of the Spanish royal family, including the future king Louis I, but was eventually replaced in that role by Jean Ranc. He then turned to other genres: some religious works and, above all, mythological and rural scenes derived from Flemish Baroque art, which introduced such themes to Spain. His pastoral taste appears in Blind man's buff (La gallina ciega), clearly influenced by Watteau, a painting that later served as the model for Goya's tapestry cartoon of the same name.
His landscapes are now particularly valued, such as the View of El Escorial in the Prado, praised for an atmosphere that recalls Corot. Many of them remain in the royal palaces and are little known. Around 1726 he took Antonio González Ruiz into his workshop as an apprentice.
Works (1)
Where to see the work
- Goya Museum Castres · 1
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- René-Antoine Houasse 1645–1710
Pupils
- Antonio González Ruiz 1711–1788