GOUJON, JEAN, a celebrated French sculptor, born in Goujon, is sometimes called the Correggio of sculptors, from the softnees and delicate roundness of his execution, especially in basso-rilievc, in which he was excellent; he is also sometimes termed the father of French sculpture. Many of his worke have perished, hut two of the beat still remain : the besal-rilievi of the Naiades of the Fontaine des Innocents, and the four colossal Caryatides in the Louvre, in the Salle des Cariatides, so named from Goujon's works, built in the reign of Henri II. Goujon was also an architect; he was architect to the king, and was appointed, conjointly with Pierre Lescot, to super intend the building of the Louvre. lie was employed also in other works by Henri 11.; and he made for him a large naked statue of his mistress, Diana of Poitiers (the Duchess of Valentinois), which is now in the Louvre, in the Salle d'Angouleme. The figure, which is reclining and resting against a stag, has been extravagantly praised; but it is neither well proportioned, nor does It possess any fine develop ment of form characteristic of the female : it is long, and wants undulation of line ; but this peculiarity might be supposed to belong to the individual, wero not the nymphs of the Fontaine des innocents conspicuous for the same defects, which shows that they are defects of manner. The accessory parts of his works are elaborately executed.
Goujon was a Huguenot, and fell a victim to the massacre of St. Bartholomew, in 1572 ; he was shot while on a scaffolding, working upon some baislrilievi at the Louvre. His remaining works have been engraved and published in large octavo, by A. Revell, CEuvres de Jean Gonjon, grav6 au trait d'apres see Statues,' &c., Paris, 1829. (D'Argenville, Vies des fanteux Arclasteetes et Seulpteuro, &c.; Dandre Hanlon ; Watelet ; Revell et Duchesne; &c.)