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Primitifs [Barbus; Méditateurs; Penseurs], Les.

Group of French artists formed in 1797. From the studio of Jacques-Louis David, they were united in their quest for ideal beauty and rejected all but the simplest styles in art (see DAVID, JACQUES-LOUIS, §I, 3). Membership of the group fluctuated during its brief existence. Formed in reaction to David’s painting, The Intervention of the Sabine Women (completed 1799; Paris, Louvre), it was no longer a coherent entity after 1803. The spiritual leader of the group was Pierre-Maurice Quay (c. 1779–1802/4); other leading figures were Jean-Pierre Franque, his brother Joseph-Boniface Franque (1774–1833) and wife Lucile Messageot (1780–1802), Jean Broc and Antoine-Hilaire-Henri Périé (1780–1833). Prominent sympathizers included Paul Duqueylar (1771–1845), Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de Montabert and the Italian sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini; the writers Jean-Antoine ‘Auguste’ Gleizes (1773–1843) and Charles Nodier (1780–1844) were also closely involved.

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