Adolphe Napoléon Didron (1806–1867) was a French art historian and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Biography

Adolphe Napoléon Didron was born in

Hautvillers Hautvillers is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. The Abbey of St. Peter which existed here until the French Revolution was the home of the famous Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk whose work in wine-making helped to deve ...

on 13 March 1806. He began his education as a student of law. He then completed his early studies at the preparatory seminaries of

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

and

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. He became a professor of history in Paris in 1826, and devoted his leisure hours to following courses of law, medicine, etc. In 1830, he began, on the advice of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, a study of the Christian

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. After visiting and examining the principal churches, first of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, then of central and southern France, he was on his return in 1835 appointed by Guizot secretary to the Historical Committee of Arts and Monuments; and in the following years he delivered several courses of lectures on Christian

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

at the Bibliothèque Royale. In 1839, he visited

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

for the purpose of examining the art of the

Eastern Church Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

, both in its buildings and its manuscripts. In 1844, he originated the ''Annales archéologiques'', a

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

devoted to his favorite subject, which he edited until his death. In 1845 he established at Paris a special archaeological press, and at the same time a

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

factory. In the same year he was admitted to the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. His most important work is the ''Iconographie chrétienne'', of which, however, the first portion only, ''Histoire de Dieu'', was published, in 1843. It was translated into English by E. J. Millington. Among his other works may be mentioned the introduction and comments to ''Manuel d'iconographie chrétienne grecque et latine'' (by

Dionysios of Fourna Dionysius of Fourna ( el, Διονύσιος ο εκ Φουρνά; c. 1670 – after 1744) was an author, educator, painter, and monk. He was one of the most influential painters of the 18th century. He was a monk on the isolated self-autonomous ...

, translated by Paul Durand), published in 1845, the ''Iconographie des chapiteaux du palais ducal de Venise'' of 1857, and the ''Manuel des objets de bronze et d'orfèvrerie'', published in 1859. He died on 13 November 1867.

Notes

References

*Catherine Brisac & Jean-Michel Leniaud, ''Adolphe-Napoléon Didron ou les media au service de l'art chrétien'', in ''Revue de l'Art'', 77, 1987, pp. 33–42. {{DEFAULTSORT:Didron, Adolphe Napoleon 1806 births 1867 deaths People from Marne (department) French art historians French archaeologists Knights of the Legion of Honour