Jean Marie Napoléon Désiré Nisard (20 March 1806 – 27 March 1888) was a French writer and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

. He was born at

Châtillon-sur-Seine Châtillon-sur-Seine () is a commune of the Côte-d'Or department, eastern France. The Musée du Pays Châtillonnais is housed in old abbey of Notre-Dame de Châtillon, within the town, known for its collection of pre-Roman and Roman relics ...

Career

In 1826 he joined the staff of the ''

Journal des Débats The ''Journal des débats'' (, ''Journal of Debates'') was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times. Created shortly after the first meeting of the Estates-General of 1789, it was, after the outbreak ...

'', but subsequently transferred his pen to the ''National''. Under the

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

he was inspector-general of education (1852) and director of the École normal (1857–1867). Nisard's literary reputation was established by his ''Histoire de la littérature française'' (1844–1861). This work helped to secure his election to the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1850 as seat 39. His other works include ''Études d'histoire et de littérature'' (1859–1864), and ''Les Quatres grands historiens latins'' (1875). In all his books Nisard vigorously supported the claims of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

against

romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. He is the object of the loathing of the narrator in the

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

book '' Démolir Nisard'', by the French writer Eric Chevillard.

Death

Nisard died at San Remo in 1888.

Memorials

The school Lycée polyvalent Désiré Nisard in

was named after Nisard.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nisard, Desire 1806 births 1888 deaths People from Châtillon-sur-Seine Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Commanders of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French historians French literary critics Members of the Académie Française French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male writers