Pierre Arnoul | |
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 Portrait of Pierre Arnoul as Honorary Advisor to the Parlement de Provence. Engraving by Jacques Cundier after a painting by Nicolas de Largillierre.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts | |
| Born | 1651 |
| Died | October 17, 1719 |
| Occupation | Officier de plume |
| Spouse(s) | Françoise de Soissan de La Bédosse, Marie-Henriette Brodart |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Nicolas-François Arnoul de Vaucresson (brother) |
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Pierre Arnoul, born in 1651 and died in Paris on October 17, 1719, was a French officer de plume who served as the naval intendant during the reign of Louis XIV. He was the son of naval intendant Nicolas Arnoul and a study companion and friend of Seignelay, the son and successor of Jean-Baptiste Colbert. After succeeding his father as Secretary of State for the Navy, Pierre Arnoul was under the protection of Seignelay, his superior.
Pierre Arnoul's career, which spanned nearly fifty years, began with the support of his father and his connections to the Colbert family. It experienced a brief setback in 1679-1680 when he was dismissed following the sinking of two ships.
After studying the navies of foreign countries, he held various naval intendant positions in France, including in the Levant and the Ponant regions. He oversaw the administration of ports such as Marseille (1673-1674, 1710-1719), with a focus on the galley arsenal, Toulon (1674-1679), Le Havre (1680-1681), Bayonne (1681), and Rochefort (1683-1688). Moreover, he organized classes and supplied the Spanish fleet during the War of the Spanish Succession.
In the ports under his management, he oversaw daily operations and also spearheaded several significant developments. Despite proposing numerous projects to successive navy ministers, only a few were implemented. He was regarded as one of the most skilled naval administrators during Louis XIV's reign.
His first wife, Françoise de Soissan de La Bédosse, manipulated the entire Arnoul family. She first married her two sons, one to Pierre Arnoul's mother and the other to Pierre Arnoul's sister, before marrying Pierre Arnoul himself, despite being significantly older than him. She skillfully managed their assets. After her death, Pierre Arnoul remarried Marie-Henriette Brodart, the daughter of an intendant.