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Caffiéri [Caffieri; Caffier].
French family of artists of Italian descent. (1) Philippe Caffiéri (i), the son of Daniele Caffiéri (1603–39), chief engineer to Pope Urban VIII, left Rome for Paris in 1660. His virtuosity of craftsmanship and mastery of detail were characteristics that were shared by other members of the family, as was employment as a sculptor in the naval yards. Philippe was associated with Le Havre while his eldest son, François-Charles Caffiéri (1667–1729), François-Charles’s own son, Charles-Philippe Caffiéri (b 1695), and grandson, Charles-Marie Caffiéri (b 1736), all worked as sculptors in the naval yards of Le Havre and Brest. (2) Jacques Caffiéri, another of Philippe’s sons, was one of the most celebrated bronzeworkers in the reign of Louis XV. Jacques’s eldest son, (3) Philippe Caffiéri (ii), was also a bronze-caster and chaser and had a large private clientele in France that included the Marquise de Pompadour, the Prince de Condé and Mme du Barry. Jacques’s younger son, (4) Jean-Jacques Caffiéri, became one of the most eminent sculptors of the second half of the 18th century, producing monumental works as well as small-scale allegorical groups and some of the liveliest and most elegant portrait busts of the time. The following members have entries:
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