Jean-Paul Laurens by Auguste Rodin 1881, Albertinum, Dresden

Jean-Paul Laurens (; 28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French

Academic 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 ...

style.

Biography

Laurens was born in

Fourquevaux Fourquevaux (; oc, Forcasvals) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population Sights The Château de Fourquevaux is a 15th- and 16th-century castle. With its 18th-century orangery, it has been listed since 19 ...

and was a pupil of

Léon Cogniet Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794 – 20 November 1880) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with more than one hundred notable students. Biography He was born in Paris. His father was a painter ...

and

Alexandre Bida Alexandre Bida (1813–1895) was a French painter. Life He was born in Toulouse, and specialized in Orientalism and studied under Eugène Delacroix, but with an artist's eye for precision and perfection, he soon developed his own style. During B ...

. Strongly

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, his work was often on historical and religious themes, through which he sought to convey a message of opposition to monarchical and clerical oppression. His erudition and technical mastery were much admired in his time, but in later years his highly realistic technique, coupled to a theatrical ''

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

'', came to be regarded by some art-historians as overly didactic. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting, a genre of painting that was in decline during Laurens' lifetime. Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

, including the steel vault of the

Paris City Hall 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. Si ...

, the monumental series on the life of

Saint Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre an ...

in the apse of the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

, the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater, and the hall of distinguished citizens at the

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

capitol. He also provided illustrations for

Augustin Thierry Augustin Thierry (or ''Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry''; 10 May 179522 May 1856) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his approach ...

's ''Récits des temps mérovingiens'' ("Accounts of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

Times"). Laurens was highly respected teacher at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

, Paris, and a professor at the ''

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

'' in Paris, where he taught

André Dunoyer de Segonzac André Dunoyer de Segonzac (6 July 1884 – 17 September 1974) was a French painter and graphic artist. Biography Segonzac was born in Boussy-Saint-Antoine and spent his childhood there and in Paris. His parents wanted him to attend the military ...

and George Barbier. He died in Paris, aged 82. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934) and

Jean-Pierre Laurens Jean-Pierre Laurens (18 March 1875, Paris23 April 1932, Fontenay-aux-Roses) was a French painter; primarily of figures and portraits. Biography He was the youngest son of the painter, Jean-Paul Laurens. His older brother, Paul Albert Laurens ...

(1875–1932), both also became painters and teachers at the Académie Julian. File:Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne - La Délivrance des emmurés de Carcassonne 1879 - Jean Paul Laurens.jpg, ''The Release of the Prisoners of Carcassonne'', 1879 File:Augustins - L'Agitateur du Languedoc - Jean-Paul Laurens RO 699.jpg, '' The agitator of Languedoc'', 1887 File:Augustins - Saint Jean Chrysostome et l'Impératrice Eudoxie - Jean Paul Laurens 2004 1 156.jpg, ''

Saint John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abu ...

and Empress Eudoxia'', 1893 File:Hotel de ville de Tours triptyque Jeanne d'Arc 2.jpg, one panel of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

triptych,

Hôtel de Ville, Tours The Hôtel de Ville (, '' City Hall'') in Tours, France houses the city's offices. The building, ornate inside and out, was designed by Tours native architect Victor Laloux and completed in 1904. Exterior The Renaissance Revival main st ...

, c. 1900 File:Capitole Toulouse - Grand escalier - Le Tournois - Jean-Paul Laurens.jpg, ''The Tournament'', 1912 File:Laurens excomunication 1875 orsay.jpg, ''

Excommunication of Robert the Pious ''The Excommunication of Robert the Pious'' (french: L'Excommunication de Robert le Pieux is a 1875 painting by Jean-Paul Laurens, held by the Musée d'Orsay. It depicts the excommunication of Robert II of France in the year 998. History The pa ...

Notable students

Jean Paul Laurens Le Pape Formose et Etienne VI 1870

Moussa Ayoub M. Moussa Ayoub (c.1873–1955) was a Syrian-born British artist known for his portraits. He was an active painter in London and Paris between 1903 until 1938. About He was born 1873 in Damascus, Syria, during the time of Ottoman Syria. Ayoub st ...

Marjorie Bates Marjorie Christine Bates R.A. (1882–1962) was born in Kings Newton, near Melbourne, Derbyshire. She was a painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy''Royal Academy exhibitors, 1905-70: a dictionary of artists and their work in the Summer Exhi ...

Bates at Panvertu.com
accessed 29 December 2007 *

Emilio Boggio Emilio Boggio (21 May 18577 June 1920) was an Italian- Venezuelan pioneering impressionist painter. In 1864 he traveled to France and studied at the Lycée Michelet in Paris until 1870. In 1873, he returned to Caracas and dedicated himself to th ...

Catharine Carter Critcher Catharine (sometimes Catherine) Carter Critcher (September 13, 1868 – June 11, 1964) was an American painter. A native of Westmoreland County, Virginia, she worked in Paris and Washington, D.C. before becoming, in 1924, a member of the Taos Soci ...

* Cecilia Cutescu-Storck *

Angèle Delasalle Mathilde Angèle Delasalle (25 February 1867 – c. 1941) was a French artist known for her painting and etching. Her works are held in the collections of many museums. Biography Delasalle first attended a convent school in Paris, the "Institut ...

Georges Dufrénoy Georges Dufrénoy (June 20, 1870December 9, 1943) was a French post-Impressionist painter associated with Fauvism. Biography He was born in Thiais, France. His family lived at 2 Place des Vosges in Paris in a historic 17th-century building in ...

* Ludwig Deutsch *

Sears Gallagher Sears Gallagher (1869–1955) was a prolific, commercially successful American artist proficient in multiple media: drawing, etching, watercolor and oil painting. His work consists largely of landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes depicting his ...

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...

Thomas Cooper Gotch Thomas Cooper Gotch or T. C. Gotch (1854–1931) was an English painter and book illustrator loosely associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement; he was the brother of John Alfred Gotch, the architect. Gotch studied art in London and Antwe ...

Louise Herreshoff Louise Chamberlain Herreshoff (November 29, 1876 – May 14, 1967) was an American painter and collector of porcelain. She lived for most of her life in either New York or Rhode Island, although she undertook extended art training in France at th ...

Christian Herter Christian Archibald Herter (March 28, 1895December 30, 1966) was an American diplomat and Republican politician who was the 59th Governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957 and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961. His moderate t ...

Herter Brothers Herter is a German occupational surname for a herdsman. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Herter (1871–1950), American painter; son of Christian, the furniture maker * Christian Herter (1895–1966), American politician; son o ...

Will Hutchins Will Hutchins (born Marshall Lowell Hutchason; May 5, 1930) is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster, in the Western (genre), Western television series ''Sugarfoot'', which aired on American B ...

A. Y. Jackson Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...

Gustave Louis Jaulmes Gustave Louis Jaulmes (14 April 1873 – 7 January 1959) was an eclectic French artist who followed the neoclassical trend in the Art Deco movement. He created monumental frescoes, paintings, posters, illustrations, cartoons for tapestries and carp ...

Alfred Garth Jones Alfred Garth Jones (1872–1955) was an English artist and illustrator who worked mainly in woodcut, pen and ink line art drawing and watercolour. Early life Alfred Jones was born in Hulme, Manchester in 1872, the son of Thomas Jones (b1844) ...

Leon Kroll Leon Kroll (December 6, 1884 – October 25, 1974) was an American painter and lithographer. A figurative artist described by ''Life'' magazine as "the dean of U.S. nude painters", he was also a landscape painter and also produced an exceptional ...

Mortimer Lichtenauer Mortimer Lichtenauer (May 11, 1876 – May 30, 1966) was an American painter. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics#Painting, painting event in the Art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics, art competition ...

Arturo Michelena Francisco Arturo Michelena Castillo (; 16 June 1863 – 29 July 1898) was a Venezuelan painter known for his historical and genre scenes and portraits. Biography His father, Juan Antonio Michelena (1832-1918) was also a painter. His mothe ...

* Ella Ferris Pell * Cristóbal Rojas * Robert Poughéon *

Alexander Rummler Alexander Joseph Rummler (July 25, 1867 – 1959) was an American painter best known for his work on murals and billboards. Rummler was born in Dubuque, Iowa to German immigrants Joseph and Rosalia Rummler. In 1888 Rummler traveled to Ne ...

Paul Sibra Paul Sibra (10 September 1889 – 24 March 1951) was a French regionalist painter, painter of religious scenes, landscapes and portraits. Paul Sibra is nicknamed “''le peintre du Lauragais''”, after his native region. Biography Paul Sibra ...

* René Schützenberger *

William Somerville Shanks William Somerville Shanks ARSA, RSA, RSW (28 September 1864 – 28 July 1951) was a Scottish artist who was a tutor in painting and drawing at the Glasgow School of Art for 29 years. His painting ''Tiddley Winks'' sold for £181,250 at Sot ...

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* Sofia Martins de Sousa *

Henry Scott Tuke Henry Scott Tuke (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), was an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and young ...

Karl Yens Karl Yens (January 11, 1868 – 1945), also Karl Jens was a German-American who was noted for both plein-air paintings of the California impressionist movement as well as Modernism (art), Modernism. Yens was born Karl Julius Heinrich Jens was bor ...

Biography

Notable students

References

Further reading