François Lemoyne (1688–1737)—also spelled Le Moyne—was a leading French painter of the early eighteenth century and a key architect of Rococo’s courtly style. Born in Paris, he trained with Louis Galloche at the Académie royale, mastering drawing, classical composition, and the ambitions of history painting. Study in Italy deepened his admiration for Baroque decorators such as Veronese and Pietro da Cortona, shaping his vocation for grand allegories and complex ceiling programs. Back in France, Lemoyne advanced steadily through Salon appearances and royal commissions, admired for luminous color, airy compositions, and deft foreshortening. By the 1720s–30s he had become a preferred interpreter of myth and royal virtue, unifying vast interiors with pearly light, flowing drapery, and gracefully choreographed figures. His achievements culminated in major decorative campaigns at Versailles and, in 1736, the coveted title Premier peintre du Roi (First Painter to the King). A demanding teacher, he influenced a younger generation—including François Boucher—who adapted his refined palette and buoyant invention. Despite public triumphs, relentless pressure and the physical strain of monumental work weighed on him. In 1737 he died by suicide, shocking Paris. Lemoyne’s legacy is a distinctly French synthesis of classical structure and Rococo sensuality, renewing the grand tradition of decorative painting.