Jean-François Marmontel (11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

historian, writer and a member of the Encyclopédistes movement.

Biography

He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin (today in

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regio ...

). After studying with the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

at Mauriac, Cantal, he taught in their colleges at

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

; and in 1745, acting on the advice of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

, he set out for

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. Si ...

to try for literary success. From 1748 to 1753 he wrote a succession of

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

: ''Denys le Tyran'' (1748); ''Aristomene'' (1749); ''Cleopâtre'' (1750); ''Heraclides'' (1752); ''Egyptus'' (1753). These literary works, though only moderately successful on the stage, secured Marmontel's introduction into literary and fashionable circles. He wrote a series of articles for the '' Encyclopédie'' evincing considerable critical power and insight, which in their collected form, under the title ''Eléments de Littérature'', still rank among the French classics. He also wrote several comic operas, the two best of which probably are '' Sylvain'' (1770) and '' Zémire et Azore'' (1771). In the

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ...

–

Piccinni Piccinni is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Niccolò Piccinni (1728–1800), Italian composer **Teatro Piccinni, Italian theater in Bari, Apulia *Louis Alexandre Piccinni (1779–1850), Italian-French composer, grandso ...

controversy he was an eager partisan of Piccinni with whom he collaborated in

Roland (Piccinni) ''Roland'' is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni. The opera was a new setting of a libretto written by Philippe Quinault for Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1685, specially adapted for Piccinni by Jean-François Marmontel an ...

(1778) and Atys (1779), both using Jean Baptiste Lully's libretto by Quinault as basis, '' Didon'' (1783) and ''Penelope'' (1785). In 1758 he gained the patronage of

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rem ...

, who obtained for him a place as a civil servant, and the management of the official journal '' Le Mercure'', in which he had already begun the famous series of ''Contes moraux''. The merit of these tales lies partly in the delicate finish of the style, but mainly in the graphic and charming pictures of French society under King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. The author was elected to 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 ...

in 1763. In 1767 he published ''Bélisaire'', now remarkable in part because of a chapter on religious toleration which incurred the censure of the Sorbonne and the

archbishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in Fran ...

. Marmontel retorted in ''Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Perou'' (1777) by tracing the cruelties in Spanish America to the religious fanaticism of the invaders. He was appointed historiographer of France (1771), secretary to the Academy (1783), and professor of history in the Lycée (1786). As a historiographer, Marmontel wrote a history of the regency (1788). Reduced to poverty by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, Marmontel retired during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

to Evreux, and soon afterwards to a cottage at Abloville (near

Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon (, literally ''Saint-Aubin on Gaillon'') is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure ...

) in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Jean Baptiste Massillon Jean-Baptiste Massillon, CO (24 June 1663, Hyères – 28 September 1742, Beauregard-l'Évêque), was a French Catholic prelate and famous preacher who served as Bishop of Clermont from 1717 until his death. Biography Early years Massillon w ...

, whom more than half a century previously he had seen at Clermont, to Honoré Mirabeau. The book was nominally written for the instruction of his children. It contains an exquisite picture of his own childhood in the Limousin; its value for the literary historian is great. Marmontel lived for some time under the roof of Madame Geoffrin, and was present at her famous dinners given to artists; he was welcomed into most of the houses where the encyclopaedists met, and was a contributor to the ''

Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

''. He thus had at his command the best material for his portraits, and made good use of his opportunities. After a short stay in Paris when elected in 1797 to the ''Conseil des Anciens'', he died at Abloville. He was a member of the Masonic lodge Les Neuf Sœurs.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

named him as one of the three people in history who were the most influential for him. In his autobiography,

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

credits ''Memoires d'un père'' with curing him of depression.

Works

Theatre

Marmontel published many opera librettos and mostly operas comiques librettos, a genre in which he excelled but could not compete with

Charles-Simon Favart Charles Simon Favart (13 November 1710 – 12 May 1792) was a French playwright and theatre director. The Salle Favart in Paris is named after him. Biography Born in Paris, the son of a pastry-cook, he was educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, a ...

. *1748: ''Denys le tyran'', tragedy, 5 February *1749: ''Aristomène'', tragedy, 30 April *1750: ''Cléopâtre'', tragédie, 20 May *1751: ''

La Guirlande ''La guirlande'' (full name: ''La guirlande, ou Les fleurs enchantées'') is an opera by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Jean-François Marmontel. It takes the form of an '' acte de ballet'' (a one-act opera with many dan ...

'', acte de ballet, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1751: ''

Acante et Céphise ''Acante et Céphise, ou La sympathie'' is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 19 November 1751 at the Opéra in Paris. It takes the form of a ''pastorale héroïque'' in three acts. The librettist was Jean-François Marmontel. The ...

'', pastorale héroïque in three acts, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1752: ''Les Héraclides'', tragedy, 24 May *1753: ''Égyptus'', tragedy *1753: '' Lisis et Délie'', pastorale héroïque in 1 act, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1753: ''

Les sibarites ''Les sibarites'' (''The Sybarites'') is an opera in the form of a one-act ''acte de ballet'' by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 13 November 1753 at Fontainebleau. The libretto is by Jean-François Marmontel. It tells the story of a wa ...

'', acte de ballet, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1761: ''

Hercule mourant Hercule may refer to: Fictional characters * Hercules, in Roman mythology * Hercule Poirot, a detective created by Agatha Christie * Hercule Flambeau, in the Father Brown mysteries by G. K. Chesterton * Hercule (''Dragon Ball'') or Mr. Satan, in ...

'', tragédie lyrique, music by

Antoine Dauvergne Antoine Dauvergne (3 October 1713 – 11 February 1797) was a French composer and violinist. Dauvergne was born in Moulins, Allier. He served as master of the ''Chambre du roi'', director of the Concert Spirituel from 1762 to 1771, and dir ...

*1762: ''

Annette et Lubin Annette may refer to: Film and television * '' Walt Disney Presents: Annette'', 1950s television series * ''Annette'' (film), a 2021 musical film Other * Annette (given name), list of people with the name * Annette Island, Alaska * Tropical Storm ...

'' *1766: ''La Bergère des Alpes'' *1768: '' Le Huron'', opera comique, music by André Grétry *1769: '' Lucile'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1770: ''Sylvain'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1771: ''L'amie de la maison'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1771: '' Zémire et Azor'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1773: '' Céphale et Procris'', ballet héroïque, music by André Grétry *1775: ''La Fausse magie'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1783: '' Didon'', opera, music by

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly th ...

*1785: ''

Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's '' Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicat ...

'', opéra comique, music by Niccolò Piccinni *1788: ''

Démophoon ''Démophoon'' (sometimes spelt ''Démophon'') is an opera by the composer Luigi Cherubini, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) on 2 December 1788. It takes the form of a '' tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. The ...

'', music by

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the gre ...

Poetry

* ''Polymnie'', satire en 11 chants *1751: ''L’établissement de l’École militaire'', *1752: ''Vers sur la convalescence du Dauphin'', *1753: ''La naissance du duc d’Aquitaine'', *1760: ''Épître aux poètes'', *1820: ''La Neuvaine de Cythère'', (licencious poem)

Novels

*1755–1759: ''Contes moraux'', *1767: '' Bélisaire'', Reprinted in 1787 by the Bibliothèque amusante. (see the two paintings by

Jacques Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away f ...

'' Bélisaire demandant l'aumône'') *1777: ''Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Perou'' *1792: ''Nouveaux contes moraux''

Essays

*1763: ''Poétique française'', 3 parts: a work in which

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

and Boileau are strongly attacked. *1777: ''Essai sur les révolutions de la musique en France'', *1785: ''De l’Autorité de l’usage sur la langue'', *1787: ''Éléments de littérature''. Modern edition at Desjonquères, presented, established and annotated by Sophie Le Ménahèze, 2005. *1788: ''Mémoire sur la régence du duc d’Orléans'' *1792: ''Apologie de l’Académie française''.

Varia

*1746: '' L'Observateur littéraire '': literary journal established with Jean-Grégoire Bauvin (or Beauvin) ; « ''Cette feuille, écrira-t-il, n'étant ni la critique infidèle et injuste des bons ouvrages, ni la satire amère et mordante des bons auteurs, elle eut peu de débit.''» . The title was revived by abbé de La Porte in 1758. *1712–1714: ''The Rape of the Lock'' by Alexander Pope, translated into verse ''La boucle de cheveux enlevée'', 1746. Edition bilingue moderne chez Rivages poche, 2010, 142 pages () *1759: édition remaniée de ''Venceslas'' by Rotrou, *1766: ''La Pharsale de Lucain'', translated into prose, *1775: édition des ''Chefs d’œuvres dramatiques de Mairet, Du Ryer et Rotrou'', with a ''Commentaire'', *1800: ''Mémoires d’un père pour servir à l’instruction de ses enfants'', *1806: ''Leçons d’un père à ses enfants sur la langue française''.

Notes

References

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External links

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Marmontel
on Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Marmontel, Jean-Francois 1723 births 1799 deaths People from Corrèze 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French novelists 18th-century French poets 18th-century French journalists French opera librettists French literary critics 18th-century French historians French fantasy writers Members of the Académie Française Les Neuf Sœurs Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) French historiographers Prisoners of the Bastille 18th-century French memoirists