Turenne, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de, 1611-75, marshal of France, one of the greatest of French commanders. The son of the duc de Bouillon, he was brought up as a Protestant. He began his military career in the Dutch army but soon entered French service. Turenne showed his great capabilities in the Thirty Years War, distinguishing himself under Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar in the victory (1638) over the imperial forces at Breisach. In the successful battles of Freiburg im Breisgau (1644) and Nördlingen (1645) he served with the brilliant commander Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé; the lives of the two were thereafter intertwined. Turenne, who had been made a marshal in 1643, was—with the Swede Lennart Torstensson—the dominant figure in the last years of the war. His series of victories expedited the long negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia (1648). In the war of the Fronde of the Princes (see under Fronde) he was persuaded by Mme de Longueville, Condé's sister, to take the part of the rebels led by Condé and was defeated (1650) by government forces at Rethel. When the princes of the Fronde had been reconciled with Mazarin, Turenne again became a government commander. He defeated (1652) Condé roundly at the battle of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine near Paris and was again (1658) victorious over Condé in the Battle of the Dunes, when the latter was serving with Spain. In the War of Devolution (see Devolution, War of) he commanded (1667) in Flanders but had no part in the campaign (1669) of Condé (now reconciled to the government) in Franche-Comté. In the third of the Dutch Wars he marched with King Louis XIV and Condé into Holland, but the French were checked before Amsterdam by the opening (1672) of the dikes. On the Rhine, Turenne defeated (1674) enemy troops at Sinzheim and ravaged the Palatinate. He was killed in battle against the troops of Raimondo Montecucculi. His emphasis on mobility and surprise and his patient calculation, matched by his personal courage and his popularity with his men, won him much admiration. Late in his life he was converted (1668) to Roman Catholicism.

La Tour, Maurice Quentin de, 1704-88, French portraitist working in pastel. From 1737 to 1773 he exhibited at the Salon portraits of considerable technical virtuosity and psychological penetration. They brought him an immense and continuing popularity. Among his famous sitters were Louis XV, Mme de Pompadour, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Marshal de Saxe. Most of his work is in the Louvre and in the museum of his native Saint-Quentin.

La Tour, Georges de, 1593-1652, French painter. By 1618 he was settled at Lunéville, in his native Lorraine. He bore the title of painter to the king in 1639. La Tour painted religious and genre pictures, many of which show the influence of Dutch modifications of Caravaggio's style. La Tour's early works (1620s) include The Fortune Teller (Metropolitan Mus.) and St. Jerome (Stockholm), both minutely descriptive. A transitional painting, Job and His Wife (Épinal), is an early example of La Tour's nocturnal scenes, in which forms are dramatically illuminated by a candle or a hidden light source. In his later works (c.1640-1652), La Tour discarded extraneous detail and reduced figures to simple, sculptural forms rendered in warm colors. Characteristic later paintings are Repentant St. Peter (Cleveland Mus.), Christ and St. Joseph in the Carpenter's Shop (Louvre), The Hurdy-Gurdy Player (Nantes), and St. Sebastian Mourned by St. Irene (Berlin). In 1974 the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. purchased his Magdalen of the Mirror for an estimated $1.5 million.

La Tour d'Auvergne, Théophile Malo Corret de, 1743-1800, French soldier. Although an aristocrat, he fought for the revolutionaries in the French Revolutionary Wars. He had left the army because of ill health when he was captured (1795) by a British corsair and was imprisoned until 1797. Although he had retired, he rejoined the army to serve in place of his youngest and only surviving son. La Tour d'Auvergne was noted for his bravery and modesty; when he refused promotion he was officially dubbed the "first grenadier of France." He was killed in battle. Until 1814 his name was still heard at roll call, and his comrades' response was "Dead on the field of honor!" La Tour d'Auvergne was also a scholar of Gallic antiquities and of Celtic languages (especially Breton).

Bouillon, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne, duc de, 1555-1623, marshal of France, diplomat, and Protestant leader. He served with Henry IV against the Catholic League but fled (1603) to Geneva when he was ordered arrested for his part in a conspiracy against the king. Under Marie de' Medici he returned and entered the council of regency, from which he withdrew after a quarrel with the queen. He participated in a series of pro-Calvinist intrigues but later retired to his independent duchy, which he had acquired through marriage in 1591. He founded a library and a Protestant college at Sedan. Bouillon was the grandson of Anne de Montmorency and the father of Turenne.

Bouillon, Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de, c.1605-1652, French general; son of Henri de Bouillon. Brought up a Protestant, he campaigned in Holland under his uncle Maurice of Nassau. In 1635 he entered the service of France. He rebelled against Cardinal Richelieu in 1641, but after a reconciliation he was given command (1642) of the French forces in Italy. Soon afterward he was arrested in the Cinq Mars conspiracy and, in return for pardon, ceded to France the sovereign principality of Sedan, which his family had held. He embraced Roman Catholicism, went to Rome, and commanded the papal troops. In 1649 he returned to France and took part in the Fronde on the side of the princes. In 1651, however, he submitted and exchanged Sedan and Rocourt, which he then held as fiefs, for other territories.

orig. Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne

(born Sept. 11, 1611, Sedan, France—died July 27, 1675, Sasbach, Baden-Baden) French military leader. He earned his reputation as a military leader in the Thirty Years' War, especially with the capture of Turin (1640). Made a marshal of France (1643), he commanded the French army in Germany and joined the Swedish army in conquering Bavaria (1648). In France he joined the aristocrats in the Fronde (1649), but later he skillfully commanded the royal army to defeat the forces led by the prince de Condé, who had allied himself with Spain, and to bring about the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which ended France's war with Spain. Appointed marshal-general (1660), Turenne marched alongside Louis XIV in joint command of the French armies in the War of Devolution (1667–68). His bold strategies won numerous victories against the imperial army in Germany (1672–75), but he was killed in action at Sasbach. He was buried with the kings of France at Saint-Denis and later moved to the Invalides by Napoleon, who esteemed Turenne as the greatest military leader in history.

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(born , March 19, 1593, Vic-sur-Seille, Lorraine, Fr.—died Jan. 30, 1652, Lunéville) French painter. He was well known in his lifetime, especially for his depictions of candlelit subjects, then was forgotten until the 20th century, when the identification of works previously misattributed established his reputation as a giant of French painting. His early works were painted in a realistic manner and influenced by the dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio. The paintings of La Tour's maturity are marked by a startling geometric simplification of the human form and by the depiction of interior scenes lit only by the glare of candles or torches. His religious paintings done in this manner have a monumental simplicity and a stillness that expresses both contemplative quiet and wonder. Little is known of his life, and only four or five of his paintings are dated. The chronology and authenticity of some works attributed to him are still debated.

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orig. Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne

(born Sept. 11, 1611, Sedan, France—died July 27, 1675, Sasbach, Baden-Baden) French military leader. He earned his reputation as a military leader in the Thirty Years' War, especially with the capture of Turin (1640). Made a marshal of France (1643), he commanded the French army in Germany and joined the Swedish army in conquering Bavaria (1648). In France he joined the aristocrats in the Fronde (1649), but later he skillfully commanded the royal army to defeat the forces led by the prince de Condé, who had allied himself with Spain, and to bring about the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which ended France's war with Spain. Appointed marshal-general (1660), Turenne marched alongside Louis XIV in joint command of the French armies in the War of Devolution (1667–68). His bold strategies won numerous victories against the imperial army in Germany (1672–75), but he was killed in action at Sasbach. He was buried with the kings of France at Saint-Denis and later moved to the Invalides by Napoleon, who esteemed Turenne as the greatest military leader in history.

Learn more about Turenne, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, viscount de with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born , March 19, 1593, Vic-sur-Seille, Lorraine, Fr.—died Jan. 30, 1652, Lunéville) French painter. He was well known in his lifetime, especially for his depictions of candlelit subjects, then was forgotten until the 20th century, when the identification of works previously misattributed established his reputation as a giant of French painting. His early works were painted in a realistic manner and influenced by the dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio. The paintings of La Tour's maturity are marked by a startling geometric simplification of the human form and by the depiction of interior scenes lit only by the glare of candles or torches. His religious paintings done in this manner have a monumental simplicity and a stillness that expresses both contemplative quiet and wonder. Little is known of his life, and only four or five of his paintings are dated. The chronology and authenticity of some works attributed to him are still debated.

Learn more about La Tour, Georges de with a free trial on Britannica.com.