Tony Robert-Fleury (1 September 18378 December 1911)
/ref> was a French painter, known primarily for historical scenes. He was also a prominent art teacher, with many famous artists among his students.
Biography
He was born just outside 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. S ...
, and studied under his father Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury
Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury (8 August 17975 May 1890) was a French painter.
Biography
Born in Cologne, he was sent by his family to Paris, and after travelling in Italy returned to France and made his first appearance at the Salon in 1824 ...
and under Paul Delaroche
Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...
and 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 ...
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 century ...
(School of Fine Arts) in Paris.
His first painting at the Salon de Paris
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 1866, was a large historical canvas, titled ''Varsovie, Scène de l'Insurrection Polonaise'', recalling the events of 8 April 1861 in Warsaw, when Russian troops quenched riots by force. In the following year, his "Old Women in the Place Navone, Rome" was purchased by the Musée du Luxembourg
The Musée du Luxembourg () is a museum at 19 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1750, it was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace (the matching west wing housed the Marie de' ...
.
In 1870, he painted a canvas of ''Le Dernier Jour de Corinthe'' (''Last Day of Corinth''), which depicted the last day before the Roman legions looted and burned the ancient Greek city, according to Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
. This painting was also purchased by the Musée du Luxembourg, and is now on display at the Musée d'Orsay. In 1880, he painted a ceiling for the Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of th ...
in Paris, representing "The Glorification of French Sculpture."
Robert-Fleury painted '' Pinel a la Salpêtrière'' (1876), which depicts the famed ''Father of Modern Psychiatry'' among the inmates of the asylum. Philippe Pinel had been named chief doctor at the asylum in 1795, and had instituted more charitable and rational treatments.
In 1875, Robert-Fleury painted ''Charlotte Corday
Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (27 July 1768 – 17 July 1793), known as Charlotte Corday (), was a figure of the French Revolution. In 1793, she was executed by guillotine for the assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat, who w ...
at Caen'', which shows the woman coming to the conclusion that Marat
Marat may refer to:
People
*Marat (given name)
*Marat (surname)
**Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), French political theorist, physician and scientist
Arts, entertainment, and media
*''Marat/Sade'', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss
* ''Marat/Sade'' (fil ...
needed to be murdered. In 1882 he painted ''Vauban donnant le plan des fortifications de Belfort'' where the celebrated engineer is represented in Louis XIV costume reviewing maps and designs, while in the background laborers are building.
Robert-Fleury taught as a professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
for many years at the Académie Julian in Paris.
Robert-Fleury became president of the ''Société des artistes français
The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...
'' in succession to Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...
. He was honoured with Commander of the Legion of Honour
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 1907. In 1908 he was elected president of the Taylor Foundation, a position he held until the end of his life. He acquired a great reputation and is renowned for his historical compositions, portraits and genre scenes; at his ''atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
'' he taught several well-known painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries from various countries, including Lovis Corinth
Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism.
Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Sec ...
, Édouard Vuillard
Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior s ...
, Louise-Cécile Descamps-Sabouret
Louise-Cécile Descamps-Sabouret (born 3 October 1855 Paris) was a French painter and botanical artist.
She studied under Tony Robert-Fleury and made her debut at the 1879 Paris Salon. In 1883 she became a member of the Société des Artistes Fr ...
and Sir George Clausen.
Gallery
File:Massacre de Varsóvia 1861- Tony Robert-Fleury.jpg, ''Varsovie, Scene de l'Insurrection polonaise''
File:Philippe Pinel à la Salpêtrière .jpg, '' Pinel at the Salpêtrière''. Pinel orders removal of chains from patients at Paris Asylum for insane women.
File:Robert-fleury-Le Dernier Jour de Corinthe.jpg, ''Le Dernier Jour de Corinthe'', 1870
Pupils
Some of Robert-Fleury's more prominent pupils were:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert-Fleury, Tony
1837 births
1911 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
19th-century painters of historical subjects
French portrait painters
Académie Julian alumni
Académie Julian faculty
19th-century French male artists