Jean-Eloy Chapsal (25 June 1811, Aurillac - 20 July 1882, Aurillac) was a French Romantic painter and museum Director.

Biography

His father was a

coppersmith A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an ...

. He displayed artistic talent at an early age and went to Paris to begin his studies 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 centur ...

in 1830. At various times, he worked with Antoine-Jean Gros,

Merry-Joseph Blondel Merry-Joseph Blondel (; 25 July 1781 – 12 June 1853) was a French history painter of the Neoclassical school. He was a winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1803. After the salon of 1824, he was bestowed with the rank of ''Knight'' in th ...

and

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 ...

. After several unsuccessful attempts to win 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 ...

, he left school. For several years, he was a regular participant in the Salon and received good critical notices. Despite this he returned to his hometown and got married. Once established there, he produced works in a variety of genres, religious and secular, including over 200 portraits. Among his notable patrons was the Delzons family; descendants of

Alexis Joseph Delzons Alexis Joseph Delzons (1775October 24, 1812) was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was killed in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Col ...

, one of Napoleon's generals. After 1845, he began to suffer from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

. As his condition worsened, he gradually gave up painting. He did not, however, become completely inactive. In 1853, he was named the first Director of the "Museum of Art and Archaeology of Aurillac"; a position he held until his death. At present, only an estimated 10% of his known works have been accounted for; consisting largely of landscapes,

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes and portraits of prominent local people; nobility, bourgeoisie and politicians. Most of his identified works are in the Museum. Some are in private collections, and it is believed that is where the bulk of his unfound ones are located. A street in Aurillac has been named after him. A major retrospective of his works was held at the museum in Aurillac in 2012.

Sources

*Oriane Hébert, ''Eloy Chapsal (1811-1882). Portraits d’Aurillac au XIXe siècle'', Cantal Patrimoine, 2011

External links

"Eloy Chapsal 1811-1882 Portraits D’Aurillac au XIXe siècle" par Oriane Hébert
@ Patrimoine en Haute-Auvergne
"Exposition, Du dessin à l’œuvre, Eloy Chapsal, à Aurillac"
@ Cantal.news {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapsal, Eloy 1811 births 1882 deaths 19th-century French painters French portrait painters Directors of museums in France École des Beaux-Arts People from Aurillac