Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects.

Biography

Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (; 10 January 1760 – 22 April 1832) was a French neoclassical painter. Life Born free in Guadeloupe in 1760 to a French colonial official named Pierre Guillon and a " mulatto" mother, Lethière has been ofte ...

for four years. In 1831 he became a student at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

and studied under

François-Édouard Picot François-Édouard Picot (; 10 October 1786 in Paris – 15 March 1868 in Paris) was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects. Life Born in Paris, Picot won the Prix de Rome painti ...

.Boime, A., State University of New York at Binghamton., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute., & Finch College (N.Y.). Museum of Art. (1974). ‘’Strictly academic: Life drawing in the nineteenth century’’. Binghamton: State University of New York at Binghamton. p. 27. . 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 he won in 1838 for a history painting, ''St. Peter Healing a Lame Man at the Door of the Temple''. Although in poor health, Pils then spent the customary three years at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

, which then had Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres as its director. While in Italy he visited Naples, Venice, and Florence. Pils's earlier paintings have religious themes.Grunchec, P. (1985). ''The Grand Prix de Rome: Paintings from the École des Beaux-Arts, 1797-1863''. Washington, DC: International Exhibitions Foundation. p. 158. . In 1849 he completed his most famous work, '' Rouget de L'Isle Singing

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

'', which now resides at the Musée historique de Strasbourg. After experiences travelling with French troops through the Crimea, his themes took on military and nationalistic subjects. He later produced many military scenes during the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Pils was appointed professor of painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1863 but left the same year for two years in Algeria. In 1868 he was elected to seat #14 of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts 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, ...

. Among his students were

Adrien Moreau Adrien Moreau (18 April 1843 – 22 February 1906) was a French genre works, genre and historical painter, sculptor and illustrator. Moreau was born in Troyes in Aube départment. He began his artistic training as an apprentice glassmaker, ...

, Paul Adolphe Rajon,

Julien Dupré Julien Dupré (, March 18, 1851 – April, 1910) was a French painter. He was born in Paris on March 18, 1851 to Jean Dupré (a jeweler) and Pauline Bouillié. It was expected that he enter the family business, and to that end Dupré began wo ...

Luc-Olivier Merson Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 – 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs. Biography Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artist ...

, Ludovic Piette,

Édouard Joseph Dantan Édouard Joseph Dantan (26 August 1848 – 7 July 1897) was a French painter in the classical tradition. He was widely recognized in his day, although he was subsequently eclipsed by painters with more modern styles. Biography Édouard Joseph D ...

and

László Mednyánszky Baron László Mednyánszky or ''Ladislaus Josephus Balthasar Eustachius Mednyánszky'' ( sk, Ladislav Medňanský) (23 April 1852 – 17 April 1919), a Slovak- Hungarian painter-philosopher, is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history ...

Henry-Lionel Brioux. Among his other work, Pils painted part of the ceiling of the grand staircase of the Palais Garnier, in four panels titled ''The Gods of Olympus'', ''Apollo in His Chariot'', ''Triumph of Harmony'', and ''Apotheosis of the Opera'', completed the year of his death. The following year he was the subject of a biography by Louis Becq de Fouquières. Pils died in

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...

and is buried in section 54 of

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

Gallery

File:Augustins - La mort d'une soeur de charité, 1850 - Isidore Pils Inv. R.F. 1986-82.jpg, ''The Death of a Sister of Charity'', 1850 File:Isidore Pils Saint Pierre guérissant un boiteux.JPG, ''St. Peter Healing a Lame Man at the Door of the Temple'', 1838 File:Pils rouget lisle chantant marseillaise mb (Musée).jpg, '' Rouget de L'Isle Singing

'', 1849 File:Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils - Horse caparisoned - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Horse caparisoned'', c. 1860, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Notes

* Some content on this page is translated from its French equivalent. Accessed 3/11/2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pils, Isidore 1815 births 1875 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Academic staff of the École des Beaux-Arts Members of the Académie des beaux-arts 19th-century French painters French male painters Prix de Rome for painting 19th-century French male artists