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(2) Simon Guillain
(bapt Paris, 15 June 1589; d Paris, 26 Dec 1658). Son of (1) Nicolas Guillain. He was trained by his father and studied with Alessandro Algardi in Rome, returning to France in 1612; he went on to become one of the leading sculptors of the reign of Louis XIII, rivalled only by Jacques Sarazin. Brought up in the craftsmanlike and realist traditions of late 16th-century French sculpture, he absorbed the influences of the Italian Baroque and through his pupils François Anguier and Michel Anguier helped to form the French classical style in sculpture. He collaborated with his father on a number of works, including a fountain (1613; destr.) for the château of Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, and the praying figures of Président Jeannin and his wife Anne Guéniot (marble, 1626–7; Autun Cathedral). His early independent works include the praying funerary effigy of Henri de Montpensier (marble, 1624–6) in the Sainte-Chapelle at Champigny-sur-Veude, Indre-et-Loire; the praying figures of Charles Bailly (reduced bust, marble, 1628; Versailles, Château), Bailly’s widow Chrétienne Leclerc (marble, 1628; Paris, Louvre) and Charlotte-Catherine de la Tremoïlle, Princesse de Condé (marble, 1629; Paris, Louvre) reveal the development of a more fluid technique, broader composition and suppler gestures. He also produced at this time a number of tombs decorated with busts of the deceased, surviving examples including those of François de Montholon (marble, 1623; Versailles, Château) and Robert le Roux de Tilly (marble, 1639; Acquigny, Château), which is decorated with three funerary genii, evoking the art of François Du Quesnoy.
Part of the Guillain family
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