Portrait de Jean Alaux dit le Romain par Ingres

Jean Alaux, called "''le Romain''" ("the Roman"), (1786 – 2 March 1864) was a French

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and Director of 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 ...

from 1846 to 1852.A director of the French Academy in Rome
(The Chautauquan: Organ of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, 1891) pp. 352-5.

Biography

Alaux was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, the son of a painter and the second of four brothers who all became painters. He received his first lessons in art from his father, but went on to a formal training with Pierre Lacour and later with

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter born in Paris. Background A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competitio ...

. In 1807 he was admitted to 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 ...

Paris 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 ...

. From 1808 he entered works 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 ...

, but his energies were diverted when his elder brother, Jean-Francois Alaux (1783–1858), asked him to help with a large "neorama" (a type of

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

) he was working on. Alaux eventually won the major Prix de Rome in 1815 with a work entitled ''

Briseis Briseis (; grc, Βρῑσηΐς ''Brīsēís'', ) ("daughter of Briseus"), also known as Hippodameia (, ), is a significant character in the ''Iliad''. Her role as a status symbol is at the heart of the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon t ...

weeping over the body of

Patroclus In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later a ...

'', a scene inspired by the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

'' of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

.Grunchec, P. (1985). ''The Grand Prix de Rome: Paintings from the École des Beaux-Arts, 1797-1863''. Washington, DC: International Exhibitions Foundation. p. 64. . He subsequently became a ''pensionnaire'' at the ''French Academy'' 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 ...

from 1816 to 1820 and went on to become its director. Among his fellow artists at the Academy were Drolling,

Picot picot is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or croché, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. 'Picot', pronounced '' ...

, and Cogniet, along with sculptors

David d'Angers Pierre-Jean David (12 March 1788 – 4 January 1856) was a French sculptor, medalist and active freemason.Initiated in ""Le Père de famille"" Lodge in Angers He adopted the name David d'Angers, following his entry into the studio of the painter ...

, Pradier, and Ramey; he became a friend of

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the a ...

. His first painting at the Academy was ''Cadmus killing the dragon at the fountains of Dirce'', which was later purchased by the

Duke of Orleans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

but was destroyed in the fire which engulfed the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...

in the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundatio ...

. Alaux also painted at the Academy ''Diamedes carrying off the palladium'' and ''Episodes in the combats between the centaurs and the Lapithes''. In 1821, he returned to France, where his reputation steadily grew with works such as ''The Baptism of Clovis'' (1825), ''States General of 1838'', ''The Assembly of the notables at Rouen in 1596'', and ''States General 1614''. Under the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, he worked at the "Galerie des batailles" of the

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...

, for which he painted ''The

Battle of Villaviciosa The Battle of Villaviciosa (11 December 1710) was a battle between a Franco-Spanish army led by Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme and Philip V of Spain and a Habsburg-allied army commanded by Austrian Guido Starhemberg. The battle took place durin ...

'' (1836); ''The Capture of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

'' (1837); and ''The

Battle of Denain The Battle of Denain was fought on 24 July 1712 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. It resulted in a French victory, under Marshal Villars, against Dutch and Austrian forces, under Prince Eugene of Savoy. It was the war's last battl ...

'' (1839). Alaux was appointed as director of the French Academy in

in 1846 and was caught up in the siege of Rome of 1849, involving defending Italian forces under

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

and the invading French army; he and his students were forced to temporarily flee the city for France. His directorship ended quietly with his retirement in 1852. Alaux died in Paris on 2 March 1864.

References

External links

Paintings by Alaux
(Insecula)
Portrait of Jean Alaux by Ingres
(

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

)
The atelier of Ingres in Rome
(Christie's) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alaux, Jean 1786 births 1864 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters Prix de Rome for painting Artists from Bordeaux Academic art Members of the Académie des beaux-arts 19th-century painters of historical subjects 19th-century French male artists