Émile Mâle (; 2 June 1862 – 6 October 1954) was a French

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

, one of the first to study

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, mostly sacral French art and the influence of Eastern European

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

thereon. He was a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, and a director of the

Académie de France à 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 ...

Biography

Mâle was born in

Commentry Commentry (; Auvergnat: ''Comentriac'') is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

. A pupil at the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

, he received his degree in 1886. He taught rhetoric at

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

, then at the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

. He received his doctorate in 1899. Having taught a course in the history of Christian art at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

since 1906, he held the chair in history of art there from 1912. He was the successor to

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Breton sailor ...

as head 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 ...

, 1923–1937. Among Mâle's many contributions to the understanding of the art of bygone eras were his explanations of iconography and the use of allegory in religious art.Mâle, Émile, ''Religious Art from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century'', edited with new material by Mâle, The Noonday Press, New York, 1959 In particular, his doctoral thesis on the Gothic art of France (revised over three editions) ''L'Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France'' (1899) translated into English as ''The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century'' from the third edition of 1910 (or omitting "The Gothic Image" from title, especially in the US) remains in print. He died in

Fontaine-Chaalis Fontaine-Chaalis () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. On 3 March 1974 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in this commune, in the Ermenonville Forest."Accident Details." Accident to Turkish Airlines DC-10 TC-JAV in the Erme ...

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

Honours

*Member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

(1918) *Member of the

Académie royale de Belgique The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium (RASAB) is a non-governmental association which promotes and organises science and the arts in Belgium by coordinating the national and international activities of its constituent academies s ...

*Member of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...

*Member of the

*Grand officier 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 ...

Works

*''Quomodo Sybillas recentiores artifices representaverint'' (1899) *''L'Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France'' (1899) - doctoral thesis. Translated into English as ''The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century'' from 3rd edition of 1910, 1913, Dent & Co., London, Dover Books US (omitting "The Gothic Image" from title, still in print), and other editions. Translated into German by Lorenz Zuckermandel as ''Die kirchliche Kunst des XIII. Jahrhunderts in Frankreich: Studie über die Ikonographie des Mittelalters und ihre Quellen.'' Straßburg: Verlag J. H. Ed. Heitz, 1907. *''L'Art religieux de la fin du Moyen Âge en France'' (1908) also in English, Princeton 1986, ''Religious Art in France: The Late Middle Ages: A Study of Medieval Iconography and Its Sources'' () *''L'Art allemand et l'art français du Moyen Âge'' (1917) *''L'Art religieux au XIIe siècle en France'' (1922) also in English, Princeton 1978 *''Art et artistes du Moyen Âge'' (1927), also in English, Black Swan Books, 1986 ''Art and Artists of the Middle Ages'' () *''L'Art religieux après le Concile de Trente, étude sur l'iconographie de la fin du XVIe, du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècles en Italie, en France, en Espagne et en Flandre'' (1932) *''Rome et ses vieilles églises'' (1942) trans. ''The Early Churches of Rome'', Ernest Benn Ltd., London 1960. *''Les Mosaïques chrétiennes primitives du IVe au VIIe siècle'' (1943) *''L'Art religieux du XIIe au XVIIIe siècle'' (1945) and English translation: ''Religious Art from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century'' () *''Jean Bourdichon: les Heures d'Anne de Bretagne à la Bibliothèque nationale'' (1946) *''Les Grandes Heures de Rohan'' (1947) *''Notre-Dame de Chartres'' (1948) also in English, ''Chartres'', Harper & Row, 1983 *''La Fin du paganisme en Gaule et les plus anciennes basiliques chrétiennes'' (1950) *''La Cathédrale d'Albi'' (1950) *''Histoire de l'art'' (2 volumes, 1950, editor) *''Les Saints Compagnons du Christ'' (1958,

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

publication)

References

External links

Biography

The Gothic Cathedral
excerpts by Émile Mâle
Website of the Académie française

L'art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (Google eBook)
1898 {{DEFAULTSORT:Male, Emile 1862 births 1954 deaths People from Allier University of Paris faculty French art historians French medievalists Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Académie Française French male non-fiction writers Members of the Institute for Catalan Studies Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy

Biography

Honours

Works

References

Further reading

External links