Joseph Ernest Amédée Mezzara (2 March 182012 July 1901) was a Franco-American sculptor.

Life

Born in New York, his parents Thomas François Gaspard Mezzara (1774-1845) and Marie Angélique Foulon were both painters. The Mezzara family alternated between France and America, but Joseph spent most of his youth in Paris, where he took lessons from the painters

Jean-Pierre Granger Jean-Pierre Granger (11 March 1779, in Paris – 1 December 1840, in Paris) was a French painter who worked in the Neo-Classical style. He is primarily known for portraits, history paintings and mythological scenes, but also created numerous reli ...

and

Ary Scheffer Ary Scheffer (10 February 179515 June 1858) was a Dutch-French Romantic painter. He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works of Dante, Goethe, and Lord Byron, as well as religious subjects. He was als ...

and the sculptor Pierre-Jean David d'Angers and from 1852 to 1875 exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

. His works included a bust of

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

in 1868, now in the foyer of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

. One of Mezzara's own pupils was

Ferdinand Leenhoff Ferdinand Karel Adolf Constantijn Leenhoff (24May 184125April 1914) was a Dutch painter and sculptor. Life He was born in Zaltbommel to Carolus Antonius Leenhoff (1807–1878), a carillonneur and music professor, and Martina Adriana Johanna I ...

, whose sister Mathilde Mezzara married in 1856. This also made him brother-in-law to Suzanne and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

. Thera Coppens, ''Suzanne en Edouard Manet : de liefde van een Hollandse pianiste en een Parijse schilder'', Amsterdam, Meulenhoff, 2014, 366 p. (, OCLC 884240705). After Scheffer's death in 1858, he and Scheffer's daughter

Cornélia Scheffer Francès Cornelia Marjolin-Scheffer (29 July 183020 December 1899) was a French artist and designer, notable for her drawings, ceramics and sculptures. Life Born in Paris, Cornélia Scheffer was the daughter of the Dordrecht-born Ary Scheffer. ...

took over the designing of a monument to Ary in his native

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

from

Auguste Bartholdi Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold an ...

- this became the Netherlands' first monument to a contemporary artist on its inauguration in 1862 in Mezzara's presence and was listed as a national monument in 2001. Mezzara died in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

in 1901.

References

19th-century American sculptors 19th-century French sculptors Artists from New York (state) 1820 births 1901 deaths {{France-sculptor-stub