Arsène Houssaye (28 March 181526 February 1896) was a French novelist, poet and man of letters.

Biography

Houssaye was born in Bruyères ( Aisne), near

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

; his original surname was Housset. In 1832 he found his way to Paris, and in 1836 he published two novels, ''La Couronne de bluets'' and ''La Pécheresse''. He had many friends in Paris, among them

Jules Janin Jules Gabriel Janin (16 February 1804 – 19 June 1874) was a French writer and critic. Life and career Born in Saint-Étienne (Loire), Janin's father was a lawyer, and he was educated first at St. Étienne, and then at the lycée Louis-le-Gra ...

and

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

, and he wrote in collaboration with

Jules Sandeau Léonard Sylvain Julien (Jules) Sandeau (; 19 February 1811 – 24 April 1883) was a French novelist. Early life Sandeau was born at Aubusson (Creuse), and was sent to Paris to study law, but spent much of his time in unruly behaviour with oth ...

. He produced art criticism in ''L'Histoire de la peinture flamande et hollandaise'' (1846); semi-historical sketches in ''Mlle de la Vallière et Mme de Montespan'' (1860) and ''Galerie de portraits du XVIII siècle'' (1844); literary criticism in ''Le Roi Voltaire'' (1858) and his famous satirical ''Histoire du quarante et unième fauteuil de l'Académie française'', dealing with notables who failed of election to the French Academy (1855); drama in his ''Comédiennes'' (1857); poetry in his ''Symphonie de vingt ans'' (1867), ''Cent et un sonnets'' (1873), etc.; and novels, ''Les Filles d'Eve'' (1852) and many others. He was long editor of ''

L'Artiste ''L’Artiste'' was a weekly illustrated review published in Paris from 1831 to 1904, supplying "the richest single source of contemporary commentary on artists, exhibitions and trends from the Romantic era to the end of the nineteenth century." ...

'' and for some years was editor and proprietor of ''La Presse''. In 1849, through the influence of the actress (Eliza)

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

, he was entrusted with the administration of the Theâtre Français, a position he filled with unfailing tact and success until 1859, when he was made inspector general of fine art. In 1863, when excavating the site of the chapel of Saint-Florentin at the Chateau d'Amboise in the Loire Valley, he found a partially-complete skeleton and stone fragments bearing the inscription 'EO ..DUS VINC'. The unusually large skull led Houssaye to conclude he had located the remains of

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

, which were re-interred in the chapel of Saint-Hubert at the same chateau. Reflecting doubts about the attribution, a plaque above the tomb states that the remains are only "presumed" to be those of Leonardo. In 2016, it was announced that DNA tests were to be conducted to investigate the veracity of the attribution, with results expected in 2019. His ''Confessions, souvenirs d'un demi-siècle'' appeared in 1885–91. See also J. Lemaître, ''Arsène Houssaye'' (1897), with a bibliography. He died in Paris. His son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

was a noted historian.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houssaye, Arsene 1815 births 1896 deaths People from Aisne French poets Administrators of the Comédie-Française Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French novelists French male poets French male novelists 19th-century poets 19th-century French male writers