Émile Gebhart (19 July 1839,

Nancy Nancy may refer to: Places France * Nancy, France, a city in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and formerly the capital of the duchy of Lorraine ** Arrondissement of Nancy, surrounding and including the city of Nancy ...

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) was a French academic and writer, He was elected to the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

(fauteuil 34) in 1905. He was attacked by Radicals for his religious and patriotic ideals.

Life

He was the grand-nephew of General Drouot. Having finished his studies in the ''lycée'' of Nancy, he was admitted to the École Française of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, where he researched future works. When he returned to France he was sent to the ''lycée'' of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

and soon after appointed professor of foreign literature in the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. A chair of Southern European literature was instituted specially for him at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, in 1880. For the twenty-six years during which he retained that position, he was a most popular professor, his lectures being attended by enthusiastic audiences both of students and of men and women of the world. In 1895 he was elected to the

Academy of Moral and Political Sciences An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. Every summer, for twenty-five years, he spent three months in Italy, visiting Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, seeking books in libraries, staying in monasteries and talking with the monks, and gathering popular legends.

Works

His favourite subjects were Greek antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. His style is clear, if slightly sarcastic at times. His works include: *"Praxitele" (1864), *"La Renaissance et la Réforme" (1877), *"Les Origines de la Renaissance en Italie" (1879), *"L' Italie mystique" (1890), translated as "Mystics and Heretics in Italy" (1922), *"Le son des Cloches, contes et légendes" (1898), *"Moines et Papes" (1896), *"Autour d' une tiare" (1894), *"Cloches de Noël et de Pâques" (1900), *"Conteurs florentins au moyen-âge" (1901), *"Jules II" (1904), * "Florence" (1906), *"Souvenirs d'un vieil Athénien" (1911).

References

External links

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Académie française page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebhart, Emile 1839 births 1908 deaths 19th-century French historians 19th-century French writers Members of the Académie Française Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Academic staff of Nancy-Université French male non-fiction writers Members of the Ligue de la patrie française