François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. After he was made a
baron of the Empire in 1809 by Emperor
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, he was known formally as Baron Gérard.
Life and career
François Gérard was born in Rome to J. S. Gérard and Cleria Matteï.
[ Henri Gérard 1888] At the age of twelve, Gérard obtained admission into the ''Pension du Roi'' in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
. From the ''Pension'', he passed to the studio of the sculptor
Augustin Pajou, which he left at the end of two years for the studio of the history painter
Nicolas-Guy Brenet,
[Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1728–1792), professor at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, 1778. Michael Bryan, ''Dictionary of Painters and Engravers'', ''s.v.'' "Brenet, Nicolas Guy". Brenet was also the master of Jean Germain Drouais.] whom he quit almost immediately to place himself under
Jacques-Louis David.
In 1789, he competed for the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, which was carried off by his comrade
Girodet. In the following year (1790), he again presented himself, but the death of his father prevented the completion of his work and obliged him to accompany his mother to Rome. In 1791, he returned to Paris, but his poverty was so great that he was forced to forgo his studies in favor of employment which would bring in immediate profit. David at once availed himself of his help, and one of that master's most celebrated portraits, of
Louis-Michel Le Pelletier de Saint-Fargeau, may owe much to the hand of Gérard. This painting was executed early in 1793, the year in which Gérard, at the request of David, was named a member of the revolutionary tribunal, from the fatal decisions of which he, however, invariably absented himself.
In 1794, he obtained the first prize in a competition, the subject of which was ''The Tenth of August'', that is, the
storming of the Tuileries Palace. Further stimulated by the successes of his rival and friend Girodet in the
Salons of 1793 and 1794, Gérard (aided by
Jean-Baptiste Isabey
Jean-Baptiste Isabey (11 April 1767 – 18 April 1855) was a French painter born at Nancy.
He was a successful artist, both under the First Empire and to the diplomats of the Congress of Vienna.
Life
At the age of nineteen, after some lesson ...
, the miniaturist) produced in 1795 his famous ''Bélisaire''. In 1796, a portrait of his generous friend (conserved today in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
) obtained undisputed success, and the money received from Isabey for these two works enabled Gérard to execute in 1797 his ''Psyche et l'Amour'' (''illustration''). At last, in 1799, his portrait of
Madame Mère established his position as one of the foremost portrait-painters of the day.
In 1808, as many as eight (and in 1810, no less than fourteen) portraits by him were exhibited at the Salon, and these figures afford only an indication of the enormous numbers which he executed yearly. All of the leading figures of the Empire and of the
Bourbon Restoration, and all of the most celebrated men and women of Europe, sat for Gérard. This extraordinary vogue was due partly to the charm of his manner and conversation, for his ''salon'' was as much frequented as his studio.
Madame de Staël,
George Canning,
Talleyrand and the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...
have all borne witness to the attraction of his society.
Rich and famous, Gérard was stung by remorse for earlier ambitions abandoned; at intervals, he had indeed striven with Girodet and other rivals to prove his strength at
history painting, still a more prestigious genre than portraiture. His ''Bataille d'Austerlitz'' (1810) showed a breadth of invention and style which was even more conspicuous in ''L'Entrée d'Henri IV à Paris'' (at Versailles), the work with which in 1817 he paid homage to the returned
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
. After this date, Gérard declined, watching with impotent grief the progress of the
Romantic school.
Loaded with honors – baron of the Empire in 1809, member of the ''Institut'' on 7 March 1812, officer of 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 ...
'', first painter to the king – he worked on, sad and discouraged. The
revolution of 1830 added to his disquiet, and on 11 January 1837, after three days of fever, he died.
Gérard is best remembered for his portraits. The color of his paintings has suffered, but his drawings show in uninjured delicacy the purity of his line, and those of women are specially remarkable for a virginal simplicity and frankness of expression. His students included
Heinrich Christoph Kolbe Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
.
Selected works
File:Bonaparte premier Consul Gérard Chantilly.jpg, Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
as First Consul, 1803
File:Joachim Murat (1767-1815) (A).jpg, Portrait of Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...
, king of Naples and of the Two Sicilies, 1811–1812, private collection, Paris
File:Murat (Gerard).jpg, Portrait of Joachim Murat
''Portrait of Joachim Murat'' is an oil-on-canvas painting created in 1808 by the French painter François Gérard. It depicts general Joachim Murat. It is held in Room 54 of the National Museum of Capodimonte, in Naples.
It shows Murat in the p ...
File:François Gérard - Napoleon I 001.JPG, Portrait of Emperor Napoleon I
File:François Pascal Simon Gérard 003.jpg, Portrait of Madame Récamier
File:Emprjose.jpg, Portrait of Empress Joséphine
Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 – 29 May 1814) was Empress of the French as the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810 ...
File:Desiree Clary.png, Portrait of Désirée Clary
Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary ( sv, Eugenia Bernhardina Desideria; 8 November 1777 – 17 December 1860) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 to 8 March 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Charles John was a former Fr ...
File:François Gérard - Portrait of Catherine Worlée, Princesse de Talleyrand-Périgord - WGA08599.jpg, Portrait of Catherine Grand, Princesse de Bénévent
File:François Pascal Simon Gérard 002.jpg, Portrait of Hortense de Beauharnais
File:Hortense de beauharnais.jpg, Portrait of Hortense de Beauharnais
File:Gerard FrancoisPascalSimon-Cupid Psyche end.jpg, Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called '' The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between P ...
File:La bataille d'Austerlitz. 2 decembre 1805 (François Gérard).jpg, Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...
File:François Gérard - St Theresa (detail).jpg, Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila, OCD (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada; 28 March 15154 or 15 October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Spanish Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
Active during t ...
File:Corinne au Cap Misène - Francois Gérard.jpg, '' Corinne at Cape Misenum'', 1819–1821, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 1 ...
File:François Gérard Daphnis and Chloe.JPG, Daphnis and Chloe
''Daphnis and Chloe'' ( el, Δάφνις καὶ Χλόη, ''Daphnis kai Chloē'') is an ancient Greek novel written in the Roman Empire, the only known work of the second-century AD Greek novelist and Hellenistic romance, romance writer Longus ...
, c. 1824, oil on canvas, The Detroit Institute of Arts
File:Mme. de Staël as her character Corrine (posthumously).png, Mme de Staël as her character Corrine (posthumously)
See also
*
Neoclassicism in France
Footnotes
References
Sources
*
* A biography by Charles Lenormant.
* A biography by Adolphe Viollet-le-Duc followed by François Gérard's correspondence collected by his nephew Henri Gérard.
* A different biography by his nephew Henri Gérard, 14 etched portraits, additional letters and notes.
Notes
External links
* , the painting of 'Mme de Staël as her character Corrine' engraved by
Joseph Goodyear for The Amulet annual, 1832.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Francois
18th-century French painters
French male painters
19th-century French painters
1770 births
1837 deaths
Pupils of Jacques-Louis David
Members of the Académie des beaux-arts
Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery
Artists from Paris
French people of Italian descent
Barons of the First French Empire
Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
18th-century French male artists