Jean-Paul Laurens
Encyclopedia
Jean-Paul Laurens was a French
painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic
style.
Born in Fourquevaux
, he was a pupil of Léon Cogniet
and Alexandre Bida
. Strongly anti-clerical
and republican
, his work was often on historical and religious themes, through which he sought to convey a message of opposition to monarchical and clerical oppression. His erudition and technical mastery were much admired in his time, but in later years his highly realistic technique, coupled to a theatrical mise-en-scène, came to be regarded by some art-historians as overly didactic and even involuntarily comical. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting, a genre of painting that was in decline during Laurens' lifetime.
Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the French Third Republic
, including the steel vault of the Paris City Hall
, the monumental series on the life of Saint Genevieve
in the apse of the Panthéon
, the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater, and the hall of distinguished citizens at the Toulouse
capitol. He also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierry's Récits des temps mérovingiens ("Accounts of Merovingian Times").
Laurens was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
in Paris, where he taught André Dunoyer de Segonzac and George Barbier
. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934) and Jean-Pierre Laurens (1875–1932), became painters and teachers at the Académie Julian
. He died in Paris in 1921.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
style.
Born in Fourquevaux
Fourquevaux
Fourquevaux is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-Sights:The Château de Fourquevaux is a 15th and 16th century castle. With its 18th century orangery, it has been listed since 1979 as a historic site by the French Ministry of Culture.-References:*...
, he was a pupil of Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet was a French historical and portrait painter.- Biography :Cogniet was born in Paris. In 1812, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Pierre-Narcisse Guérin at the same time as Delacroix and Géricault. In 1817 he won the Prix de Rome and was a resident at...
and Alexandre Bida
Alexandre Bida
F. Alexandre Bida was born in Toulouse, France in 1813 and was a painter of the Romantic period. He specialized in Orientalism and studied under Eugène Delacroix, but with an artist's eye for precision and perfection, he soon developed his own style. During Bida's youth, he traveled and worked in...
. Strongly anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
and republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, his work was often on historical and religious themes, through which he sought to convey a message of opposition to monarchical and clerical oppression. His erudition and technical mastery were much admired in his time, but in later years his highly realistic technique, coupled to a theatrical mise-en-scène, came to be regarded by some art-historians as overly didactic and even involuntarily comical. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting, a genre of painting that was in decline during Laurens' lifetime.
Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the French Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
, including the steel vault of the Paris City Hall
Hôtel de Ville, Paris
The Hôtel de Ville |City Hall]]) in :Paris, France, is the building housing the City of Paris's administration. Standing on the place de l'Hôtel de Ville in the city's IVe arrondissement, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357...
, the monumental series on the life of Saint Genevieve
Genevieve
St Genevieve , in Latin Sancta Genovefa, from Germanic keno and wefa , is the patron saint of Paris in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition...
in the apse of the Panthéon
Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...
, the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater, and the hall of distinguished citizens at the Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
capitol. He also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierry's Récits des temps mérovingiens ("Accounts of Merovingian Times").
Laurens was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris, where he taught André Dunoyer de Segonzac and George Barbier
George Barbier
George Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and...
. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934) and Jean-Pierre Laurens (1875–1932), became painters and teachers at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
. He died in Paris in 1921.
Notable students
- Marjorie BatesMarjorie BatesMarjorie Christine Bates R.A. was born in Kings Newton, near Melbourne, Derbyshire. She was a painter who exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and Paris and achieved a moderate living from her paintings.-Biography:...
- Adelaide Cole Chase
- Georges DufrénoyGeorges DufrénoyGeorges Dufrénoy was a French post-Impressionist painter associated with Fauvism.-Biography:He was born in Thiais, France. His family lived at 2 Place des Vosges in Paris in a historic 17th century building in which he lived all his life...
- Thomas Cooper GotchThomas Cooper GotchThomas Cooper Gotch was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter and book illustrator, and brother of John Alfred Gotch the noted architect.-Early life:...
- Christian HerterChristian HerterChristian Archibald Herter was an American politician and statesman; 59th governor of Massachusetts from 1953 to 1957, and United States Secretary of State from 1959 to 1961.-Early life:...
of Herter BrothersHerter BrothersThe firm of Herter Brothers, New York, , founded by Gustave and Christian Herter , begun as an upholstery warehouse, became one of the first firms of furniture makers and interior decorators in the United States after the Civil War... - A. Y. JacksonA. Y. JacksonAlexander Young Jackson, was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven.- Early life and training :...
- René SchützenbergerRené SchützenbergerRené Schützenberger , also known as Paul René Schützenberger, was a French painter.- Biography :...
- Alfred Garth JonesAlfred Garth JonesAlfred Garth Jones was an English artist and illustrator who worked mainly in woodcut, pen and ink line art drawing and watercolour.-Early life:...
- Louis OrrLouis OrrLouis M. Orr is an American men's college basketball coach. Orr became the 15th men's basketball head coach at Bowling Green State University on April 4, 2007, replacing Dan Dakich whose contract ran out following the 2006-2007 season. Orr was the head coach at Seton Hall University from April 4,...
Further reading
- Desjardins, M. H. (2004) Des peintres au pays des falaises 1830 - 1940. Fécamp: Éditions des falaises; pp. 108 – 114
- Jean-Paul Laurens 1838 - 1921, peintre d'histoire, Catalogue d'exposition, Musée d'Orsay. Paris: RMN, 1997