Michel Colombe
Overview
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...
sculptor whose work bridged the late Gothic and Renaissance styles.
Born in Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
into a family of artisans, he was active in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
. Colombe's surviving works all date from his old age. He created the gisant
Recumbent effigy
Recumbent effigy literally means a "likeness lying in repose"; life-size sculptures of deceased individuals wearing the costume of their station and lying on their back...
figures of the two deceased children of Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
on their monument
Church monument
A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a dead person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms, from a simple wall tablet to a large and elaborate structure which may include an effigy of the deceased person and other figures of familial or...
(1506) in Tours Cathedral. However, his most important surviving works were for the magnificent tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany
Tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany
The tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany is a monument located in Nantes, in the Cathedral of St. Peter. The project was commissioned by Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, who was the daughter of Francis and his second wife Margaret of Foix, who is also depicted beside Francis. The tomb was...
, in Nantes Cathedral
Nantes Cathedral
Nantes Cathedral or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Nantes , is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France...
(1502-07), and for the mausoleum of Philibert II of Savoy
Philibert II, Duke of Savoy
Philibert II , surnamed the Handsome or the Good, was the Duke of Savoy from 1497 until his death.-Biography:...
, at Notre-Dame de Brou, his masterwork.
The Francis II monument was designed by Jean Perréal
Jean Perréal
Jean Perréal -- sometimes called Peréal, Johannes Parisienus or Jean De Paris -- was a successful portraitist for French Royalty in the first half of the 16th Century, as well as an architect, sculptor and limner of illuminated manuscripts...
; it was disassembled and buried for safekeeping during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
An Entombment at the Abbey of Solesmes (1494-98) is attributed to him.
Quotations
Quiero hacer contigo lo que la primavera hace con los cerezos.
I want to do with you what spring does with cherry trees.
Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca.
I like for you to be still: it is as though you were absent,and you hear me from far away and my voice does not touch you.
Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Es tan corto el amor y tan largo el olvido.
Love is so short and forgetting is so long.