Quick Facts
Biography
Peter Van Dievoet was a Belgian sculptor and designer of ornamental architectural features. He was born in Brussels, baptised 29 June 1661 in the church of Sainte-Gudule, died 2 March 1729 in Brussels.
He was the brother of Philippe Van Dievoet, goldsmith to Louis XIV and the uncle of the printer Guillaume Van Dievoet dit Vandive.
Life
King James II when he was residing in Brussels had observed the talent of the young sculptor Peter Van Dievoet, and when he return in England he asked him to come with him. Van Dievoet arrived in London with the King, in the same ship.
In London he was a regular visitor to the studio of Grinling Gibbons. In 1686, he cast and made the statue of James II for St. James's Park in London. He returned to Brussels after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
In 1695 he was master of the Quatre-Couronnés at Brussels, the guild of stonemasons and sculptors of Brussels. He was an acclaimed sculptor and was involved in the construction of the new Grand-Place in the baroque style.
In the Marché aux Herbes, the sculptures of the White Lamb (1696) are fading away, victims of brusselization.