Germain Pilon (ca. 1535-1590) was the leading French sculptor of his time. Trained in the Italianate mode of Fontainebleau, he developed an independent style that combined realism and emotional intensity.

Germain Pilon, the son of a mason, was born in Paris. He may have been a pupil of the sculptor Pierre Bontemps. The Italian painter and designer Francesco Primaticcio constituted a more important influence on Pilon's early work. In 1560 Pilon worked for Primaticcio on the monument for the heart of Henry II (now in the Louvre, Paris). The Three Graces that support the urn transcend the formal elegance of design and cool, graceful figures of the Fontainebleau school in their beautifully manipulated draperies and intelligent, piquant faces. By 1561 Pilon was active at Fontainebleau, where he carved four wooden statues of classical figures for the Queen's garden.

Between 1563 and 1570, under Primaticcio's initial direction, Pilon executed the monumental tomb of...