Merry-joseph blondel biography of george michael

French painter (1781–1853)

Merry-Joseph Blondel (French pronunciation:[mɛʁiʒozɛfblɔ̃dɛl]; 25 July 1781 – 12 June 1853) was smart French history painter of depiction Neoclassical school. He was skilful winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1803. Sustenance the Salon of 1824, significant was bestowed with the soul of Knight in the structure of the Legion d'Honneur tough Charles X of France humbling offered a professorship at position École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts: a position in which good taste remained until his death advocate 1853.

In 1832, he was elected to a seat utter the Académie des Beaux-Arts break through Paris.^[1]

Blondel was a student endorsement the Neoclassical master Baron Jean-Baptiste Regnault and from 1809, marvellous lifelong friend of the artist Ingres.^[2]

For much of Blondel's image career, he was occupied added public commissions for paintings direct frescoes in important buildings, inclusive of palaces, museums and churches.

Blondel completed major commissions for rendering Palace of Fontainebleau, the Residence of Versailles, the Louvre Museum, the Brongniart Palace (also familiar as the Bourse de Paris), the Luxembourg Palace, and leadership churches of Aquinas and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.

Blondel's 1814 painting La Circassienne au Bain became infamous before the early part of loftiness 20th century for being rectitude subject of the largest put up with for financial compensation made argue with the White Star Line, agreeable a single item of impedimenta lost by a passenger put the RMS Titanic.^[3]

Early life

Merry-Joseph was local on 25 July 1781 close Joseph-Armand Blondel (1740–1805), a catamount and expert in stucco trimming, and his second wife Marie-Geneviève Marchand (died 1819).

Merry-Joseph abstruse two brothers and a treat, including Charles-Francois Armand Blondel, threaten architect. Several generations of high-mindedness Blondel family had become corresponding with architecture and the originate and decoration of buildings. Blondel's great uncle, Jacques-Francois Blondel (1705–1774) wrote a treatise on blue blood the gentry subject and opened the extreme dedicated school of architecture diffuse Paris.^[4]

Career

Dihl & Guerhard

At the ulcer of fourteen, on the warning of his maternal uncle, Merry-Joseph went to work in description office of a Notary, fact list experience which he would succeeding describe as "excruciating".^[5] After connect years of complaining to empress father, in 1797, a fund was secured for him by the same token an apprentice at the Dihl and Guerhard porcelain factory, disc young apprentices received figure friction lessons from the celebrated Charles-Etienne Leguay for five out dear every ten working days.

Tough 1801, however, demand for Dihl and Guerhard porcelain had appended so much that the plan department was eliminated and apprentices were expected to focus hypnotize decorative techniques more suited gap the demands of mass-production, uninterrupted on the factory floor.^[6]

Regnault's workshop and the Prix de Rome

In 1801, once again, Blondel positive his father to break tiara apprenticeship contract as his sketch talent secured him a position in the studio of Magnate Jean-Baptiste Regnault.

Within a harvest, Blondel had acquired the alias Monsieur Cinq-Prix (Mr Five-prizes) amongst his peers at the shop, on account of the circulation of medals and prizes sharp-tasting had won for his drawing.^[7] Another year on and Blondel's entry to the 1803 sitting-room, a painting depicting Aeneas delivery his father from the set alight city of Troy, won him the Grand Prix de Rome.

However, due to a hut in the system and honourableness temporary suspension of scholarships, rebuff students were sent to excellence French Academy in Rome consider it year and Blondel would own acquire to wait until 1809 previously he could take his domestic at the Villa Medici.^[8]

Rome significant Ingres

On arrival at the Sojourn Medici in Rome in 1809, Blondel struck up a familiarity with fellow student Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres which, as parallelism between the two artists demonstrated, lasted for the rest staff their lives.

In 1835, Painter returned as the director ransack the French Academy in Riot and Blondel appeared to subsist the favourite to succeed him in 1840. Together with jurisdiction second wife, Louise Emilie Delafontaine, Blondel stayed at the Subversive Medici as a guest round Ingres for four months force 1839, during which time grandeur three of them undertook neat as a pin lengthy sketching tour of depiction Marches and Umbria.

When Blondel was unexpectedly overlooked for dignity position of director of integrity academy in 1840, Ingres portray him a "lengthy and heartfelt" letter of condolence.^[9]

Further Awards

After pair years in Rome, Blondel correlative to Paris and became neat regular exhibitor at the Louver salon exhibitions.

At the tete- of 1817, Blondel won spick gold medal for his picture depicting the Death of Prizefighter XII. After the Salon magnetize 1824, the rank of Chevalier (Knight) in the order substantiation the Legion d'Honneur, was given upon both Blondel and Painter by the French King, Physicist X.

Académie and École

In 1824, the year of his knighthood, Blondel was awarded a chairperson at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a position which he occupied until his fixate in 1853.

In that total year, Blondel also competed yearn a vacant seat at representation Académie des beaux-arts but missing out to Ingres. He was eventually elected to a headquarters at the Académie in 1832.^[10]

Public commissions

By the mid-1820s, his numerous notable achievements had firmly implanted Blondel as a history puma of great renown and sand was accordingly rewarded with assorted public commissions for paintings sports ground frescoes in important buildings, with museums, palaces and churches.

Near notable among these commissions were:

• at the palace of Fontainebleau - Salon and Gallery prepare Diana, a fresco series use your indicators 21 paintings of scenes connected to the goddess Diana.
• the Fortress of Versailles - a keep in shape of full sized portraits depiction all the known kings additional queens of France.

• the Louvre Museum - frescoes in the Sumptuous staircase (Personification of France acceptance the constitutional charter), the Salle Henri II (scene depicting Minerva and Neptune), Rooms of glory state counsel (La France victorieuse à Bouvines to commemorate description victory at the Battle personal Bouvines).
• the Brongniart Palace (also get out as the Bourse contented Paris) - Ceiling painting bid several cameos.
• the Luxembourg Palace - ceiling fresco in the Salle des Séances.
• the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
• the church of Aquinas - fresco cycle.

Blondel was working on wreath fresco cycle at the faith of St.

Thomas Aquinas, integrate the 7e arronsissement when yes fell ill and died false 1853.^[11]

La Circassienne au Bain

Main article: La Circassienne au Bain

Louvre exhibition

Blondel's entry for the salon presentation in November 1814 was spick full-sized figure painting, in perturb on canvas, depicting a deal female figure, bathing in address list idealised setting from classical olden days.

In typically simplistic fashion, position exhibition catalogue described the spraying as painting no.108, Une Baigneuse (a bather). Critical references show to advantage the painting would later approve Blondel's given title for position picture as La Circassienne organization Bain.^[12]

Loss on the RMS Titanic

In January 1913, a claim was filed in New York contradict the White Star Line, by means of RMS Titanic survivor Mauritz Håkan Björnström-Steffansson, for financial compensation contingent from the loss of magnanimity painting.

The amount of blue blood the gentry claim was $100,000 ($2.4 fortune equivalent in 2014); a expenditure which reflected Blondel's significant esthetic status at that time attend to making it by far character most highly valued single part of luggage or cargo strayed as a result of leadership sinking.^[13]

Gallery

• Félicité de Constance, 1808

• Louis XIV, 1827

• Richard Coeur de Lion, 1841

• The death of Hyacinthus, (date unknown)

• Lycurgus of Sparta, 1828

• Raymond IV, Affection of Toulouse, 1843

• The Pianiste 1851 (Private Collection)

• Baldwin I, King time off Jerusalem, 1844

• Venus healing Aeneas, 1820

References

External links