Paul Dubois (18 July 1829 – 23 May 1905) was a French sculptor and painter from Nogent-sur-Seine. His works were mainly sculptures and statues, and he was also a

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

Early life

Paul Dubois was born on the 18 July 1829 in Nogent-sur-Seine,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He began studying law to please his father who practiced as a notary, but gave this up in order to train as a sculptor; his enthusiasm for this possibly fanned by the admiration he had for the work of his great-uncle

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (26 January 1714 – 20 August 1785) was a French sculptor. Life Pigalle was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the ''Prix de Rome'', after a severe struggle he entered the ''Ac ...

. When making his debut 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 ...

in 1857 he did so under the name Dubois-Pigalle.

Career

In 1858 he entered the atelier of

Armand Toussaint The French sculptor François Christophe Armand Toussaint was born in Paris on April 7, 1806, and died there on May 24, 1862. The son of a locksmith, Armand Toussaint entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1827 and studied under David d'Angers. I ...

at the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. The following year he travelled to Rome, studying and copying the many great sculptures and mixed with the likes of

Henri Chapu Henri-Michel-Antoine Chapu (29 September 1833 – 21 April 1891) was a French sculptor in a modified Neoclassical tradition who was known for his use of allegory in his work. Life and career Born in Le Mée-sur-Seine into modest circumstances, ...

, Alexandre Falguière and

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

. As an artist he did not have to struggle with financial problems as his family supported all his studies. He stayed in Rome for 4 years and whilst in Rome he executed the works ''Saint Jean-Baptiste'' and ''Narcisse'' and, in 1863, was awarded "une médaille de 2° classe" by the Paris Salon for work sent to Paris from Rome. When he returned to France he completed the study of a young troubadour, ''Chanteur florentin du XVe siècle'', a work which was to bring him such popular success. ''Chanteur florentin du XVe siècle''
Musée d'Orsay In 1865 and 1876, he was awarded a ''médaille d'honneur'' at the Salon des beaux-arts. In June 1867 he was named Chevalier (Knight) 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 ...

; in July 1874 he was named Officer of the Légion d'honneur; in July 1886 he was promoted to Commander of the Légion d'honneur; and in 1889 he was decorated with the Grand Croix (Grand Cross) of the Légion d'honneur. His success was not limited to sculpture and as a painter he was in much demand for portraits and after 1870 he gave as much time and effort to his painting as to his sculpture. He also taught 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 ...

. Dubois died from pneumonia in 1905.

Main works

Le musée Camille Claudel (ex Dubois-Boucher)

This museum was established by Dubois and Alfred Boucher and holds information relating to Dubois.

Gallery of images

File:Jeanne d'Arc Paul Dubois Paris 8e.jpg, Statue of Joan of Arc, Place Saint Augustin, Paris File:Dubois-portrait d'Alexandre Cabanel.JPG, Bust in marble of the painter Alexandre Cabanel File:Eve naissante by Paul Dubois, Petit Palais, Paris 2010.jpg, ''Ève naissante'', Petit Palais, Paris File:Narcissus Dubois cour Carree Louvre.jpg, ''Narcissus'' (1866), by Paul Dubois. On the north façade of the Cour Carrée in the

Louvre Palace The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Ga ...

, Paris. File:Paul Dubois-Military courage.jpg, ''Military Courage'' reproduction, Mount Vernon, Baltimore File:Anne connétable de Montmorency Chantilly.jpg, Equestrian statue of Anne de Montmorency in the Château de Chantilly File:Le Souvenir au Salon de 1899.jpg, Photograph of Dubois' wax maquette of ''Le Souvenir'' submitted to the Salon des artistes français in 1899. The work mourns the loss of Alsace and Lorraine following the 1870 war with Prussia. File:Cathédrale de Nantes - cénotaphe de Lamoricière.jpg, The monument/cenotaph to General de La Moricière in Nantes Cathedral

References

External links

Insecula (French language): index to pages on Dubois' works
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Paul 1829 births 1905 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Académie Julian faculty Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Honorary Members of the Royal Academy