Paul-Albert Bartholomé was a French painter and sculptor. He was born on 29 August 1848 in

Thiverval-Grignon Thiverval-Grignon () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Points of interest * Arboretum de Grignon * Jardin botanique de l'Institut National See also *Communes of the Yvelines departmen ...

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Exposition Universelle in 1900. He exhibited paintings at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

from 1879 to 1886, but thereafter devoted his work to sculpture.

Biography

He studied law and fought in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

in General Bourbaki's army and became a prisoner in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In due course he attended the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris where he studied painting under

Barthélemy Menn Barthélemy Menn (20 May 1815 – 10 October 1893) was a Swiss people, Swiss painter and draughtsman who introduced the principles of ''plein-air'' painting and the ''paysage intime'' into Swiss art. Early life Menn was the youngest of four sons, ...

and

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

. He then set himself up in a studio in Paris and became a close friend of

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

. He married the daughter of a marquis, Prospérie de Fleury, but she died at a young age in 1887. Much encouraged by Degas he decided to try his hand at sculpture and executed the moving sculpture which marked his wife's grave in Crépy-en-Valois. He now concentrated exclusively on sculpture and from 1891 onwards he exhibited each year at the yearly

of the Société nationale des Beaux-arts. Funerary sculpture was very much in vogue in France at that time and much of Bartholomé's is death related and his masterpiece is the monument in

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

dedicated to all the dead. He was to work on this for ten years and the inauguration took place in 1899. The "Monument the Dead" is disturbing and involves twenty-one larger-than-life-size figures all showing different emotions and reactions to death. There is little sentiment in this composition which is uncompromising, secular and human, although there is an inference that a "light" will defeat the darkness, with the inscription: As a painter he was said to be influenced by

Jules Bastien-Lepage Jules Bastien-Lepage (1 November 1848 – 10 December 1884) was a French painter closely associated with the beginning of naturalism, an artistic style that grew out of the Realist movement and paved the way for the development of impressioni ...

Main works

Images of the Père-Lachaise – Monument aux morts

File:Père-Lachaise - Monument aux morts - après restauration 04.jpg, The group to the left of the tomb's entrance. All shield their faces from view. Note the perfect geometric line as their height reduces from the man standing to the far left to the seated woman on the far right. File:Père-Lachaise - Monument aux morts - après restauration 05.jpg, The group to the right. The geometric line is reversed. The man at the front is stooped and his hands grip the edge of the entrance. Behind him one woman lies prostrate whilst another is knelt in prayer. Next we see a man supporting a woman and at the end a woman turns appearing to blow a farewell kiss. File:Père-Lachaise - Monument aux morts - après restauration 03.jpg, A couple enter the darkness of the tomb. File:Père-Lachaise - Monument aux morts - après restauration 06.jpg, In a section of the tomb an angel shines a light over a dead couple across whose chests lies a dead child. File:Père-Lachaise - Monument aux morts - après restauration 02.jpg, A view of the entire monument after restoration. File:Bartholome_monument-aux-morts_1200px.jpg, Plaster model of the monument at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon

Main works (continued)

Note

In 1924 Bartholome executed a monument to Victorien Sardou which was erected by a public fountain in the Place de la Madeleine. In bronze the sculpture depicted a seated Sardou and behind him were allegories of comedy and drama. In 1941 the Germans had the monument dismantled so that the bronze could be melted down and reused.

Gallery of images

File:Crépy-en-Valois (60), monument aux morts, devant l'église, hameau de Bouillant.jpg, Bartholomé's sculpture on his wife's grave at Bouillant near Crépy-en-Valois File:Les Pleureuses étude pour le monument aux morts du cimetère du Père Lachaise à Paris-Albert Bartholomé mg 8272.jpg, Bartholomé work at Père Lachaise. File:Crépy-en-Valois (60), monument aux morts (détail), devant l'église, hameau de Bouillant.jpg, Bartholomé's sculpture on his wife's grave at Bouillant near Crépy-en-Valois File:Crépy-en-Valois (60), monument aux morts, statues.jpg, The Crépy-en-Valois war memorial File:Crepy en Valois A.JPG, A close-up of a section of the Crépy-en-Valois war memorial File:EB1911 Plate IX. v24, pg.510, Fig 7.jpg, Young Girl dressing her Hair

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

, ed. 1911, vol. 24, pg. 510, Plate IX.

References

External links

Albert Bartholomé in Artcyclopedia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartholome, Albert 1848 births 1928 deaths 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters People from Yvelines Artists from Île-de-France 19th-century French sculptors 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Commanders of the Legion of Honour Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Honorary members of the Royal Academy 19th-century French male artists