François-Auguste Biard, born François Thérèse Biard (29 June 1799 – 20 June 1882) was a French painter, known for his adventurous travels and the works depicting his experiences.

Biography

He was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. Although his parents intended for him to join the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...

, he spent most of his time learning to paint, beginning at a wallpaper factory in Lyon.Jean Lacambre and Isabelle Julia, ''Les Années romantiques. La peinture française de 1815 à 1850'', Catalog for the Exposition Itinérante, Paris, 1995 Eventually, he was able to attend 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 ...

, where he worked with Pierre Révoil until 1818, then studied with Fleury François Richard, after he took over as Director. His studies were, however, sporadic and much was learned on his own. He is, therefore, often referred to as "self-taught". He also travelled to Italy, Greece and the Middle East. His first exhibition at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

in 1824 was well received. That same year, the Archdiocese commissioned four paintings from Révoil's former students, including Biard. In 1827, he travelled again, visiting Malta, Cyprus and Egypt. He later obtained the support of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, which acquired several of his works. In 1838, he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. In 1839, he participated in a scientific expedition, led by

Joseph Paul Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequ ...

, that went to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern N ...

and Lappland. He was joined by his fiancée, the writer Léonie d’Aunet, who published an account of the trip in 1854, entitled ''Voyage d’une femme au Spitzberg''.''Dictionnaire des artistes de langue française en Amérique du Nord, peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs'', Karl David, Ed. Presses de l’Université Laval, Canada, (1992), 1 November 2002, , p.83. His sketches served as inspiration for four large panels at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with ...

The Slave Trade by Auguste Francois Biard

He married Léonie in 1840. Three years later, she became the mistress of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. In 1845, she was caught with him, ''

in flagrante delicto ''In flagrante delicto'' (Latin for "in blazing offence") or sometimes simply ''in flagrante'' ("in blazing") is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught ...

'', at a hotel. She was arrested for adultery, but Hugo was let go after invoking his inviolability as a member of the Chamber of Peers. She was taken to the

Prison Saint-Lazare Saint-Lazare Prison was a prison in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France. History Originally a leprosarium was founded on the road from Paris to Saint-Denis at the boundary of the marshy area of the former River Seine bank in the 12th ...

, served two months and was remanded to the care of a convent. The marriage was nullified in 1855. Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil, where he worked at the court of Emperor Pedro II. Using

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

as a base, he made several excursions into the countryside and to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

, where he was one of the first painters to depict the indigenous people. He was offered a teaching position at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but declined in favor of continuing his travels. Before returning to France, he detoured through North America and painted some scenes depicting slavery. In 1862, his account of his travels in Brazil, with 180 engravings, was published by

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

under the title ''Deux années au Brésil''.Biard, Auguste François, 1798-1882.
''Deux années au Brésil''
(collab.:

Édouard Riou Édouard Riou (; 2 December 1833 – 27 January 1900) was a French illustrator who illustrated six novels by Jules Verne, as well as several other well-known works. Life Riou was born in 1833 in Saint-Servan, Ille-et-Vilaine, and studied u ...

. Paris : Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1862. Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin. Universidade de São Paulo. His paintings of anecdotal subjects were popular with Salon audiences, and he was sometimes criticized for inserting humor in otherwise serious paintings. Biard died on 20 June 1882, in Samois-sur-Seine.

Selected paintings

File:Biard-FightingPolar Bears.jpg, ''Fighting Polar Bears'' (1839) File:Biard Abolition de l'esclavage 1849.jpg, ''

Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848 ''Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848'' is an 1849 painting by French artist François-Auguste Biard which is kept in the Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versa ...

'' (1849) File:François Auguste Biard - Amazonian Indians Worshiping the Sun God - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Amazonian Indians
Worshiping the Sun God'' (c. 1860) File:Francois-Auguste Biard - Dans le jardin.jpg, ''In the Garden'' File:Francois-Auguste Biard - La Poste Restante.jpg, ''At the Post Office'' File:The Artists Den by Francois Auguste Baird.jpg, ''The Artist's Den''

References

External links

* * Biard, Auguste François, 1798-1882.
''Deux années au Brésil''
(collab.: Riou, Edouard, 1833-1900) . Paris : Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1862.
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin
Universidade de São Paulo).
More works by Biard
@ ArtNet
Works by Biard
@ the ''Base Joconde''
"The Artist as Explorer"
@ The Eclectic Light Company {{DEFAULTSORT:Biard, Francois-Auguste 1799 births 1882 deaths 19th-century French painters 19th-century French male artists Artists from Lyon French expatriates in Brazil French genre painters French male painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links