Félicie-Marie-Emilie d'Ayzac (1801–1881) was a French poet and art historian. She is remembered for her poetry collection ''Soupirs poétiques'' (1833), and for her ''Histoire de l'abbaye de Saint-Denis'' (History of

Saint-Denis Abbey The Basilica of Saint-Denis (, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of singular importance historically and archite ...

, 1861).

Biography

Born in 1801, in Paris, d'Ayzac was a gifted and hard-working child. When she was 16, she joined the Legion of Honour School in Saint-Denis, soon becoming a ''dame professeur'' (lady teacher). She remained there for 35 years, first taking an interest in literature and poetry and later turning to the history of art, especially archaeology. After receiving recognition for her poetry in 1823 and 1824, her ''Soupirs'' received an award from 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 1843. Her work on art and architecture was particularly impressive. In 1849 her description of statues in

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral (, lit. Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the List of bishops of Chartres, Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ( ...

(''Statues de l'un des porches de la cathédrale de Chartres'') was welcomed by the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

. In 1861, the same institution awarded her a prize for her ''Histoire de l'abbaye de Saint-Denis''. These early works contributed to her reputation as one of the first female art historians in France. Other contributions on architecture include ''Histoire et emblèmes bibliques sculptés au pourtour extérieur du choeur de Notre-Dame de Paris'' published in ''Revue archéologique'' in 1845, and ''Symbolique des pierres précieuses ou tropologie des gemmes'' in 1846, both published in ''Revue archéologique''. The same year, in the ''Annales archéologiques de Didron'', she published ''Des quatre animaux apocalyptiques et de leurs représentations sur les églises au moyen-âge''. On her retirement, she moved to Castelnoubel Castle near

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

where she continued to write poetry and published further articles on biblical emblems, especially animals. Félicie d'Ayzac died at Castelnoubel,

Bon-Encontre Bon-Encontre (; ) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department The following is a list of the 319 communes of the French department of Lot-et-Garonn ...

, on 26 March 1881.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayzac, Felicie d' 1801 births 1881 deaths Writers from Paris 19th-century French women writers 19th-century French poets French women poets French art historians 19th-century French historians French women art historians