BIARD, Pierre the Younger - b. 1592 Paris, d. 1661 Paris

French sculptor and engraver. He was the son of Pierre Biard the Elder, and a pupil of Pietro Francavilla (Pierre Franqueville). He studied art in Italy. On his return to France, he was appointed sculptor to the king in 1609, and king’s valet in 1612.

Among his best-known works are the sculptures he made for Marie de Médici’s Grotto, in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, which were completed in 1630 but later replaced; an equestrian statue of Louis XIII; and a copy of the horse by Daniele de Volterra, which was commissioned by Richelieu in 1638 and destroyed in 1793. His role as an engraver is less significant. The engravings for which he is best remembered include: Jonah and The Sybil of Delphi, after Michelangelo; St Peter, after Raphael; Triumph of Silenus; Iphigenia’s Sacrifice; seven plates for Mythological Subjects, after Giulio Romano; three subjects drawn from The Tale of Psyche, after G. Ronvano; five plates for allegorical compositions on Painting, Sculpture and Architecture; Allegory on Statuary; two models for fountains; and Slave, after Michelangelo.