Abduction of Europe

François Lemoyne or François Le Moine (French: [fʁɑ̃swa ləmwan]; 1688 – 4 June 1737) was a French rococo painter. He was a winner of the Prix de Rome, professor of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, and Premier peintre du Roi to Louis XV. He was tutor to Charles-Joseph Natoire and François Boucher.

Throughout his career, Lemoyne sought to be seen as the heir to Charles Le Brun and the leading painter of his generation, titles also vied for by his rival Jean-François de Troy (1679–1752). Lemoyne's work and talent, notably plied in Versailles, earned him the esteem of his contemporaries and the name of the "new Le Brun". He collaborated with or worked alongside other artists of the era, including Donat Nonnotte, Gilles Dutilleul, Charles de La Fosse, and Coypel. He killed himself in 1737, at the height of his career. With his death, the fashion of large allegorical ceilings disappeared.