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Jean Barnabé Amy (11 June 1839 – 24 March 1907) was a French sculptor who mainly specialized in
bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
. He was close to members of the Félibrige, a society that promoted Provençal culture, and often made statues, busts or reliefs of members of this society.


Life

Jean-Barnabé Amy was born in
Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...
, Bouches-du-Rhône, on 11 June 1839. His parents were Jean Amy (born 1800), a laborer, and Marthe Reynaud (born 1802), a daily maid. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
from 1859. He then studied under Bonnassieux and Dumont at 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 was awarded a medal in 1868. Amy made his debut 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, ...
in 1868 with ''The Muse of Ponsard'', now held by the Tarascon town hall, and ''The Punishment''. He continued to exhibit at the Salon until his death in 1907. His ''Dévéria'', a plaster bust, was exhibited there posthumously. In 1873 he won a contest run by the newspaper ''
Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' for a statue of "Figaro" (the Barber of Seville) which now decorates the Figaro building. Amy was close to members of the Félibrige, and portrayed them many times. Examples are '' Mistral'' (marble medallion, Salon of 1872), ''Les trois Félibriges: Mistral, Roumanille and Aubanel'' (marble bas relief, Salon of 1875 and Musée Calvet in Avignon). His bronzed plaster bust of the famous Provençal poet Nicolas Saboly (1614–1675) was exhibited in the Salon of 1876 under the incorrect name ''Jacoby'' and donated by Amy to the Musée Calvet in 1877. Since no pictures of Saboly were extant it was entirely a work of the imagination. Amy was a co-founder of ''La Cigale'' in 1876. In 1877 the Soucieta Felibrenco dé Paris was founded by Batisto Bonnet, Jean Barnabé Amy, Joseph Banquier, Duc-Quercy, Maurice Faure, Louis Gleize and Pierre Grivolas. The society created the journal ''Lou Viro-Souléu''. In May 1878 two of Amy's work were exhibited in a huge show at the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées, ''L'Enfer'' (terracotta bust) and ''Monsier Thiers, couronné par le Renommée et par l'Histoire'' (plaster group). A panel of his masks won an honorable mention at the
Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...
. At this time he was experiencing growing financial difficulties. Jean-Barnabé Amy died in Paris on 24 March 1907. In 1909 his son, Marius, gave the city of Marseille more than 100 works.


Work

Amy made several monumental works, including: *Pediment of the Tarascon water tower (1869, destroyed) *Monument to the Abbé Nicolas Saboly, Provençal poet (1876, Monteux) *Statue of the historian
Jacques Auguste de Thou Jacques Auguste de Thou (sometimes known by the Latin version of his name Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parlement of Paris. Life Jacques Auguste de Thou wa ...
for the facade of the
Hôtel de Ville, Paris The (, ''City hall (administration), City Hall'') is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I of France, Francis I beginning ...
(1881) *Statue of the painter Joseph-Marie Vien for the facade of the Musée Fabre in
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
(1882) *Monument to the explorer Paul Soleillet (1888,
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
) *Monument to the Tambour d'Arcole (1894, Cadenet) *Monument to the deputy François-Désiré Bancel (1897,
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
) However, his work mainly consisted of reliefs of literary figures such as ''
Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...
'', '' Mireille'' and '' Tartarin de Tarascon'', of allegorical scenes such as ''L’Agriculture'', ''La Tentation'' and ''La Rose et le Papillon'', or of the grotesque such as ''La Servitude'', ''L’Intempérance'', ''Lou Ramaniau'' and ''La Tarasque''. Many of his works are held in the Musée des beaux-arts de Marseille. The Musée du Vieil Aix in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
holds his ''
Frédéric Mistral Joseph Étienne Frédéric Mistral (; , 8 September 1830 – 25 March 1914) was an Occitan writer and lexicographer of the Provençal form of the language. He received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of the fresh origina ...
'' (1881, bronze bas-relief). The Musée Calvet in
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
holds his '' Joseph Roumanille'' (1872, plaster bas-relief) and ''Marc Bonnefoy'' (1890, bronze bust).


Publications

Amy's publications included: *


Gallery

Image:Le remord par amy.jpg, ''Le Remords'', marble, Lunel. Image:Figaro par Amy.jpg, ''Figaro'', localisation inconnue. Image:Frédéric Mistral par Jean Barnabé Amy.jpg, ''Frédéric Mistral'',
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, Musée du Vieil-Aix. Image:Panneau masques.jpg, ''Masques'' (Salon de 1899).


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amy, Jean Barnabé 1839 births 1907 deaths People from Tarascon École des Beaux-Arts alumni 19th-century French sculptors 20th-century French sculptors 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 19th-century French male artists