Biography

Dumonstier (also spelt Du Monstier; Dumontier; Dumoustier; Du Moustier] was a French family of artists. At least 11 artists of this name are known, working variously as painters, draughtsmen, designers, goldsmiths and sculptors, and active from the 16th century to the 18th. The exact relationships of some family members are difficult to determine; these include Cosme Dumonstier I (d. 1552), a goldsmith known to have worked for Rouen Cathedral; Étienne Dumonstier I (fl. Rouen, c. 1501), an illuminator working at the château of Gaillon for Cardinal Georges d'Amboise; Cardin (or Carentin) Dumonstier, a sculptor mentioned in the accounts of the Bâtiments du Roi from 1540 to 1550; and Charles Dumonstier, active in the mid-18th century as a painter and engraver: his works include portraits of Louis XV and Marie Leczinska (Paris, Louvre). The main branch of the family began with the painter and illuminator Jean Dumonstier (d. c. 1535), whose son Geoffroy Dumonstier (c. 1510-1573) followed his profession. Another son, Meston Dumonstier (fl. c. 1535), was a goldsmith in Rouen. Geoffroy's sons Étienne Dumonstier II (c. 1540-1603), Pierre Dumonstier I and Cosme Dumonstier II (c. 1545-1605), as well as Cosme and Etienne's respective sons, Daniel Dumonstier and Pierre Dumonstier II (c. 1585-1656), are best known as portrait draughtsmen working for the French court. Daniel's sons Etienne III and Nicolas were also artists. The last member of this branch was Nicolas's son Louis Dumonstier (b. 1641), a mediocre reproductive engraver.

Pierre Dumonstier I was a painter and draughtsman. He was the brother of Étienne Dumonstier II, with whom he collaborated. In 1583 he was appointed Peintre et Valet de Chambre to Henry III and in 1586 to the Queen Mother, Catherine de' Medici. He was the author of more than 40 surviving portrait drawings in red, black and white chalk representing members of the French court (e.g. Henry IV, Catherine de' Medici and Marguerite de Valois; all Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). His minutely detailed drawing technique, relying on a system of hatching, is often uncertain and cumbersome. He made a sketch of himself with his brother Etienne (St Petersburg, Hermitage).