Vien, Joseph-Marie

Vien, Joseph-Marie (zhôzëf`-märē` vyăN`), 1716–1809, French neoclassical painter. A protégé of the comte de Caylus, he won the Prix de Rome and studied in Italy. He was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome in 1775. He is best known as Jacques-Louis David's teacher. His own works, primarily allegories and anecdotes, reflect the ideas of Winckelmann. Marchande d'amours (Fontainebleau) is one of Vien's best-known paintings; it typifies a rococo adaptation of a classical motif.