Théophile Bra
Encyclopedia
Théophile François Marcel Bra (23 June 1797, Douai
- 1863) was a French Romantic
sculptor and exact contemporary of Eugène Delacroix
. He was deeply involved in the Romantic era through his uncompromising personality and complex spirituality. His fantastical inspiration evokes the universes inhabited by Goya, William Blake
or Victor Hugo
- he was at one and the same time a Bonapartist and an anglophile, a passionate Christian disciple of Swedenborg and an admirer of Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
in 1818 and was made a Freemason in 1824 in Douai's "la Parfaite union" lodge. He also belonged to lodges in Paris
, Lille
and Douai
between 1825 and 1840. He left his birthplace of Douai 100 boxes and albums of torrential writings, holding 5,000 drawings associated with the texts. Many sheets from this bequest, now kept in Douai's City Library, have been the subject of exhibitions in the United States and France, such as at Balzac's house
, the Musée de la Chartreuse at Douai and the Musée de la vie romantique
in Paris.
and Valenciennes
, many of them being commissions under the Bourbon Restoration
and July Monarchy
. Others are to be seen on the Église de la Madeleine
, Palais du Louvre
and the Arc de Triomphe
.
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
- 1863) was a French Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
sculptor and exact contemporary of Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
. He was deeply involved in the Romantic era through his uncompromising personality and complex spirituality. His fantastical inspiration evokes the universes inhabited by Goya, William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
or Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
- he was at one and the same time a Bonapartist and an anglophile, a passionate Christian disciple of Swedenborg and an admirer of Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Life
From a family that had been wood sculptors for four generations, Bra studied art in Paris. He won second prize in the Prix de RomePrix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
in 1818 and was made a Freemason in 1824 in Douai's "la Parfaite union" lodge. He also belonged to lodges in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
and Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
between 1825 and 1840. He left his birthplace of Douai 100 boxes and albums of torrential writings, holding 5,000 drawings associated with the texts. Many sheets from this bequest, now kept in Douai's City Library, have been the subject of exhibitions in the United States and France, such as at Balzac's house
Maison de Balzac
The Maison de Balzac is a house museum in the former residence of French novelist Honoré de Balzac . It is located in the 16th arrondissement at 47, rue Raynouard, Paris, France, and open daily except Mondays and holidays; admission to the house is free, but a fee is charged for its temporary...
, the Musée de la Chartreuse at Douai and the Musée de la vie romantique
Musée de la Vie Romantique
The Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the IXe arrondissement, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in a 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are...
in Paris.
Works
His marble and plaster sculptures are numerous, in Douai's Musée de la Chartreuse, Paris churches and the museums at Versailles, LilleLille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
and Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
, many of them being commissions under the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
and July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
. Others are to be seen on the Église de la Madeleine
Église de la Madeleine
L'église de la Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army...
, Palais du Louvre
Palais du Louvre
The Louvre Palace , on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, is a former royal palace situated between the Tuileries Gardens and the church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois...
and the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
.
- Allegory of the besieged city of Lille, on the Column of the GoddessColumn of the GoddessThe Column of the Goddess is the popular name given by the citizens of Lille to the Memorial of the siege of 1792. The memorial is still in the center of the Grand' Place of Lille, and has been surrounded by a fountain since around 1990.-The Siege:The siege of September 1792 was one of the many...
in Lille - Christ on the cross and the Virgin and Child, at the église Sainte-Catherine in Lille
- Pediment of the Hôpital-Général de DouaiHôpital-Général de DouaiThe Hôpital-Général de Douai was set up in 1752 in the French city of Douai....
- Bust of Adolphe Édouard Casimir Joseph Mortier, Galerie des BataillesGalerie des BataillesThe Galerie des Batailles is a 120 metre long and 13 metre wide gallery occupying the first floor of the aile du midi of the Palace of Versailles, joining onto the grand and petit 'appartements de la reine'...
at the Château de Versailles - Bust of Mme Mention, née Emilie Michel, bronze, Musée de la vie romantiqueMusée de la Vie RomantiqueThe Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the IXe arrondissement, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in a 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are...
, Paris. - Statue of an androgynous angel, Musée de la Chartreuse de DouaiMusée de la Chartreuse de DouaiThe Musée de la Chartreuse is an art museum in a former Carthusian monastery in Douai. It is the 'musée des Beaux-Arts' for the city.- Building :...
, which inspired Balzac to create the character of conte Séraphita in one of his 1835 Études philosophiques in La Comédie humaineLa Comédie humaineLa Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac's multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy .-Overview:...
. - Bronze statue of François Broussais, 1840, second courtyard of the Military Hospital at Val-de-GrâceVal-de-GrâceThis article describes the hospital and former abbey. For the main article on Mansart and Lemercier's central church, see Church of the Val-de-Grâce....
. - One of the bas-reliefs on the base of the Column of the Grande ArméeColumn of the Grande ArméeThe Column of the Grande Armée is a 53 metre high Doric order triumphal column on the Rue Napoleon in Wimille, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.-To 1815:The column was intended to commemorate a successful invasion of England The Column of the Grande Armée (French - Colonne de la grande Armée or...
, Wimille - 1840
Publications
- The Drawing speaks : Théophile Bra : Works 1826-1855, Exhibition Catalogue, The Menil Collection, Houston, 1999, with contributions by Jacques de CasoJacques de CasoJacques de Caso is a French-born American historian who specializes in the literature and history of pre-modern art in Europe, principally late eighteenth and nineteenth century French and German neo-classicism and Romanticism.- Education :...
, Hubert DamischHubert DamischBorn in 1928, Hubert Damisch is a French philosopher specialised in aesthetics and art history, and professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris from 1975 until 1996....
, André Bigotte. - Théophile Bra, L'Evangile rouge, edited by Jacques de Caso, Paris, Gallimard, 2000.
- Sang d'encre - Théophile Bra, un illuminé romantique, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris, 2007. Contributions by Jacques de Caso, Hubert Damisch, Pierre-Jacques Lamblin, Daniel Marchesseau, with Françoise Baligand, André Bigotte, Marie-Claude Sabouret.