Antoine‑Alexandre‑Joseph Cardon (1739 – 1822), also known as “Cardon the elder” to distinguish him from his son, was a Belgian painter, portraitist and engraver active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life and training
Cardon was born in Brussels, then part of the Austrian Netherlands. He studied under Hyacinthe de La Peyne, a court painter to Empress Maria Theresa. Through his teacher’s connections, Cardon accompanied La Peyne to Vienna and later received patronage from Count Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl, Maria Theresa’s minister‑plenipotentiary in Brussels.
Career
With the support of Cobenzl, Cardon obtained a government pension that enabled him to travel to Rome and Naples for artistic study. He returned to Brussels at Cobenzl’s request and was appointed professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1810 he co‑founded an association of professional and amateur artists with Antoine Brice. In 1822, shortly before his death, Cardon was elected a member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands by William II of the Netherlands.
Cardon was an active Freemason, joining the “loge de l’Union” (the third lodge in Brussels) and producing several Masonic diplomas and emblems. He died in his native Brussels in 1822.
Works
Cardon’s oeuvre consists mainly of engravings, many after contemporary painters such as Antoine Brice, Antoine Watteau and Willem Jacob Herreyns. Notable subjects include:
- “Consolation de la monarchie autrichienne sur la mort de l’empereur Léopold II,” after a design by Antoine Brice.
- Portrait engravings of Joseph II (after Herreyns) and the Prince de Ligne.
- Illustrations for Pierre‑François Hugues d’Hancarville’s publication on William Hamilton’s antiquities from Naples.
His works were widely circulated in both the Austrian Netherlands and later in England, where his son Anthony Cardon established himself as an engraver.
Family
Cardon was the father of Philippe Cardon (d. 1817) and of Anthony Cardon (1772–1813), who continued the family’s engraving tradition after relocating to London in 1790.