Piat Joseph Sauvage

He was known for his decorative paintings of interiors, grisailles and miniatures using trompe l'oeil effects as well as his small-scale portrait carvings.

He worked in his father's factory until the age of 17, while completing his study at the school of drawing in Tournai.

He went on to improve his artistic education at the Antwerp Academy under the direction of Martin Joseph Geeraerts, an expert in grisaille and history paintings.

Sauvage was accepted into the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture after he produced a trompe l'oeil painting of a round table with an embroidered cloth on which are placed a statue of a child, a helmet, books, a violin, and other items.

As his fame grew, he was appointed the court painter of the Prince de Condé, and later of the French king Louis XVI and the Royal Family.