Ernest Louis Aquilas Christophe (15 January 1827 – 14 January 1892) was a French sculptor, a student of

François Rude François Rude (4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the ''Departure of the Volunteers'', also known as ''La Marseillaise'' on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic the ...

and a friend of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

.Bénézit 1999, p. 626 Rude assigned him to help with the bronze

recumbent effigy A tomb effigy, usually a recumbent effigy or, in French, ''gisant'' ( French, "lying"), is a sculpted figure on a tomb monument depicting in effigy the deceased. These compositions were developed in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, and ...

to Éléonore-Louis Godefroi Cavaignac, a French politician. The funerary monument is signed ''Rude et Christophe, son jeune élève'' (Rude and Cristophe, his young pupil). His ''Le Masque'' (the Mask) sculpture won Christophe third place in 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 1876 and two of his sculptures, ''La Fatalité'' (Fatality) and ''Le Baiser suprême'' (The supreme kiss) were acquired 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' M ...

. Christophe developed a deep friendship with

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n-born French poet

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna C ...

and made him his testamentary legatee. De Heredia collected part of Ernest's library after his death. He is buried in the

Batignolles Cemetery The Batignolles Cemetery (french: Cimetière des Batignolles) is a cemetery in Paris. History Batignolles Cemetery opened on 22 August 1833. Part of the cemetery had to be closed and the graves moved because of the construction of the great ring ...

Notable works

One of Christophe's most recognized works is the Human Comedy sculpture that he submitted in 1876 to the Paris Salon. The Statue was acquired and exposed in the

Jardin des Tuileries The Tuileries Garden (french: Jardin des Tuileries, ) is a public garden located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in ...

in 1877 and was moved to the Orsay museum since 1986 after restoration works in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. The sculpture inspired Christophe's friend

to write his poem ''Le Masque'' (the Mask). The sculptor renamed his statue "The Mask" with a nod to Baudelaire's ekphrastic poem. The work depicts a semi-nude woman whose smiling face is really a mask that hides "a face of sorrow". ''La Fatalité'', a statue executed by Christophe in 1885, inspired another French poet

Leconte de Lisle Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''. Biography Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...

's poem of the same title.Mortelette 2006, p. 196

Gallery

File:The Human Comedy Mask by Ernest Christophe.jpg , The Human Comedy - The Mask, 1876, marble,

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

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 ...

File:Musée de Tessé.JPG, ''Le baiser suprême '' File:Bagnères-de-Luchon statue Fortune.jpg, ''La Fatalité''

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christophe, Ernest 1827 births 1892 deaths People from Loches 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Burials at Batignolles Cemetery 19th-century French male artists