Émile Gebhart (19 July 1839,
Nancy,
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.[Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...]
) was a French academic and writer, He was elected to the
Académie Française (fauteuil 34) in 1905.
He was attacked by Radicals for his religious and patriotic ideals.
Life
He was the grand-nephew of
General Drouot. Having finished his studies in the ''lycée'' of Nancy, he was admitted to the École Française of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, where he researched future works. When he returned to France he was sent to the ''lycée'' of
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
and soon after appointed professor of foreign literature in the
University of Nancy
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
.
A chair of Southern European literature was instituted specially for him 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, ...
, in 1880. For the twenty-six years during which he retained that position, he was a most popular professor, his lectures being attended by enthusiastic audiences both of students and of men and women of the world. In 1895 he was elected to the
Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.
Every summer, for twenty-five years, he spent three months in Italy, visiting Rome, Milan, Florence, Venice, seeking books in libraries, staying in monasteries and talking with the monks, and gathering popular legends.
Works
His favourite subjects were Greek antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. His style is clear, if slightly sarcastic at times. His works include:
*"Praxitele" (1864),
*"La Renaissance et la Réforme" (1877),
*"Les Origines de la Renaissance en Italie" (1879),
*"L' Italie mystique" (1890), translated as "Mystics and Heretics in Italy" (1922),
*"Le son des Cloches, contes et légendes" (1898),
*"Moines et Papes" (1896),
*"Autour d' une tiare" (1894),
*"Cloches de Noël et de Pâques" (1900),
*"Conteurs florentins au moyen-âge" (1901),
*"Jules II" (1904),
* "Florence" (1906),
*"Souvenirs d'un vieil Athénien" (1911).
References
*
External links
*
*
Académie française page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gebhart, Emile
1839 births
1908 deaths
19th-century French historians
19th-century French writers
Members of the Académie Française
Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques
Academic staff of Nancy-Université
French male non-fiction writers
Members of the Ligue de la patrie française