Alexis Simon Belle

Alexis Simon Belle
Alexis Simon Belle, self portrait
Born	Alexis Simon Belle 12 January 1674 Paris, France
Died	21 November 1734 Paris
Nationality	French
Education	François de Troy
Known for	painter
Patron(s)	Courts of James II of England and James Francis Edward Stuart in exile, French court

Alexis Simon Belle (12 January 1674 – 21 November 1734) was a French portrait painter, known for his portraits of the French and Jacobite nobility. As a portrait artist, Belle's style followed that of his master François de Troy, Hyacinthe Rigaud, and Nicolas de Largillière. He was the master of the painter Jacques-André-Joseph-Camelot Aved (1702–1766).

Belle was born in Paris, the second child and only son of Jean-Baptiste Belle (born before 1642, died 1703), also a painter, and of Anne his wife (died 1705).

Belle's birth and baptism are recorded in the parish register of the church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, and quoted in Eugène Piot's Le Cabinet de l'amateur for the years 1861 and 1862:

The 17th day of January 1674 was baptized Simon-Alexis, son of Jean Belle, master painter, and of Anne de Champs his wife, the godfather Simon-Alexis Sourdeval, son of Guillaume Sourdeval; the godmother Marie Mercier, daughter of Louis Mercier. The godmother declared she could not sign. [Signed] Louis Sourdeval, Jean Belle.

Belle studied first under his father, then continued his training in the studio of François de Troy (1645/46-1730), a painter at the court of King James II in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He began to produce work at Saint-Germain in the years 1698 to 1701. This was a period of peace between France and Great Britain, and Jacobites could cross the English Channel carrying portraits of James Edward Stuart (who at his father's death in 1701 became the Jacobite claimant to the British throne) and his sister Princess Louisa Maria. Troy was then James II's only court painter and needed the help of Belle, his best student, to produce all the portraits ordered from him.