Augustin Bernard d'Agesci (1756/57 - 1828/29)
• Was a French painter of religious and mythological scenes.
• He displayed an early talent for art that was noticed by the Marquis d'Argenson, a noted art collector.
• In 1779, encouraged by this, he left Niort to visit the museums in Paris and pursue a career in art at the Académie Royale.
• While there, he was a student of Jean-Bernard Restout and Louis Jean François Lagrenée.
• Four years later, he was sent to the Villa Medici in Rome, as a pensioner of King Louis XVI, under the sponsorship of Joseph-Marie Vien.
• He soon obtained a prize at the Accademia Clementina in Bologna for his painting of Erato.
• Upon returning to France, he became a portrait painter.
• The Revolution effectively put an end to his career in Paris.
• Just as he was preparing to become a member of the Académie in 1792, it was abolished.
• He rejoined his family in Niort and was able to continue working with relatively little interference.
• He created a small museum there and was involved in organizing their first public library, donating 20,000 volumes brought from Paris with the assistance of a local curé.
• His interest in science also led to the establishment of a botanical garden.
• From 1802, he was the Director of the community's Free School of Drawing.
