Denis Diderot (1713 - 1784)
Diderot was the most prominent of the French Encyclopaedists.
The Encyclopédie is the most famous publications representing the thought and ideals of the Enlightenment. The Encyclopédie's aim was "to change the way people think". Diderot wanted to incorporate all of the world's knowledge into the Encyclopédie and it was the first general encyclopaedia to describe the mechanical arts. It attempted to collect and summarise human knowledge in a variety of fields and topics, including philosophy, theology, science and the arts. The Encyclopédie was controversial for reorganising knowledge based on human reason instead of by nature or theology.
View other items by Denis Diderot
Louis-Jacques Goussier (1722 - 1799)
Louis-Jacques Goussier (1722-1799) was a French illustrator and Encyclopedist.
Goussier is famous for monumental contribution to Diderot's Encyclopedie. He was the first artist to be hired on that project in 1747 and he did more than 900 of the almost 2,800 plates and directed the drawing of the others. He spent ten years visiting people of all arts and techniques and twenty-five years drawing. He also wrote sixty-one of the articles.
Born poor, he studied mathematics at Pierre Le Guay de Prémontval's (1716–1764) free school, and then became a teacher himself. The school closed in 1744 and Goussier then started as an illustrator. In 1792, he was hired by the Minister of the Interior (arts and craft division) and in 1794 by the Comité de Salut public (weapons division).
View other items by Louis-Jacques Goussier
