French painter, active in Italy. Although born in France, Laurent Pécheux spent the majority of his working life in Italy. He left Paris in 1753 for Rome, where he studied under Anton Raphael Mengs and met Pompeo Batoni. He entered the academies of Rome (1762) and Bologna (1764), and was appointed director of the academy in Turin (1777). Although recognized for his portraits, in Turin Pécheux decorated the Biblioteca Reale and painted frescos for the church of San Domenico. //