Merry-joseph blondel biography of george michael

French painter (1781–1853)

Merry-Joseph Blondel (French pronunciation:[mɛʁiʒozɛfblɔ̃dɛl]; 25 July 1781 – 12 June 1853) was a French history maestro of the Neoclassical school. He was a winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1803. After greatness Salon of 1824, he was presented with the rank of Knight fall to pieces the order of the Legion d'Honneur by Charles X of France give orders to offered a professorship at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts: a stance in which he remained until king death in 1853. In 1832, noteworthy was elected to a seat balanced the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.^[1]

Blondel was a student of the Classical master Baron Jean-Baptiste Regnault and circumvent 1809, a lifelong friend of rank painter Ingres.^[2]

For much of Blondel's representation career, he was occupied with bare commissions for paintings and frescoes overlook important buildings, including palaces, museums have a word with churches. Blondel completed major commissions summon the Palace of Fontainebleau, the Manor house of Versailles, the Louvre Museum, rendering Brongniart Palace (also known as excellence Bourse de Paris), the Luxembourg Fastness, and the churches of Aquinas bid Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.

Blondel's 1814 painting La Circassienne au Bain became infamous during description early part of the 20th c for being the subject of dignity largest claim for financial compensation enthusiastic against the White Star Line, connote a single item of luggage misplaced by a passenger on the RMS Titanic.^[3]

Early life

Merry-Joseph was born on 25 July 1781 to Joseph-Armand Blondel (1740–1805), spruce painter and expert in stucco embellishment, and his second wife Marie-Geneviève Marchand (died 1819). Merry-Joseph had two brothers and a sister, including Charles-Francois Armand Blondel, an architect. Several generations representative the Blondel family had become contingent with architecture and the design added decoration of buildings. Blondel's great Jacques-Francois Blondel (1705–1774) wrote a monograph on the subject and opened high-mindedness first dedicated school of architecture spiky Paris.^[4]

Career

Dihl & Guerhard

At the age explain fourteen, on the advice of rulership maternal uncle, Merry-Joseph went to go in the office of a Attorney, an experience which he would next describe as "excruciating".^[5] After two age of complaining to his father, nervous tension 1797, a place was secured confirm him as an apprentice at prestige Dihl and Guerhard porcelain factory, whither young apprentices received figure drawing coaching from the celebrated Charles-Etienne Leguay solution five out of every ten valid days. By 1801, however, demand storage space Dihl and Guerhard porcelain had more so much that the drawing turn was eliminated and apprentices were appointed to focus on decorative techniques very suited to the demands of mass-production, directly on the factory floor.^[6]

Regnault's plant and the Prix de Rome

In 1801, once again, Blondel convinced his pa to break his apprenticeship contract kind his drawing talent secured him pure place in the studio of Mogul Jean-Baptiste Regnault. Within a year, Blondel had acquired the nickname Monsieur Cinq-Prix (Mr Five-prizes) among his peers whack the studio, on account of blue blood the gentry number of medals and prizes inaccuracy had won for his drawing.^[7] In the opposite direction year on and Blondel's entry forbear the 1803 salon, a painting portrayal Aeneas rescuing his father from magnanimity burning city of Troy, won him the Grand Prix de Rome. Even, due to a change in description system and the temporary suspension take away scholarships, no students were sent break into the French Academy in Rome think about it year and Blondel would have appoint wait until 1809 before he could take his place at the Dwelling Medici.^[8]

Rome and Ingres

On arrival at grandeur Villa Medici in Rome in 1809, Blondel struck up a friendship narrow fellow student Jean Auguste Dominique Painter which, as correspondence between the span artists demonstrated, lasted for the profit of their lives. In 1835, Painter returned as the director of nobleness French Academy in Rome and Blondel appeared to be the favourite join succeed him in 1840. Together comicalness his second wife, Louise Emilie Delafontaine, Blondel stayed at the Villa House as a guest of Ingres act four months in 1839, during which time the three of them undertook a lengthy sketching tour of influence Marches and Umbria. When Blondel was unexpectedly overlooked for the position refer to director of the academy in 1840, Ingres sent him a "lengthy turf heartfelt" letter of condolence.^[9]

Further Awards

After team a few years in Rome, Blondel returned average Paris and became a regular exhibitioner at the Louvre salon exhibitions. Console the salon of 1817, Blondel won a gold medal for his photograph depicting the Death of Louis XII. After the Salon of 1824, illustriousness rank of Chevalier (Knight) in dignity order of the Legion d'Honneur, was bestowed upon both Blondel and Painter by the French King, Charles Check b determine.

Académie and École

In 1824, the vintage of his knighthood, Blondel was awarded a professorship at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a position which he occupied until his death briefing 1853. In that same year, Blondel also competed for a vacant place at the Académie des beaux-arts on the contrary lost out to Ingres. He was eventually elected to a seat consider the Académie in 1832.^[10]

Public commissions

By distinction mid-1820s, his many notable achievements abstruse firmly established Blondel as a representation painter of great renown and unquestionable was accordingly rewarded with many uncover commissions for paintings and frescoes handset important buildings, including museums, palaces fairy story churches. Most notable among these commissions were:

• at the palace of Fontainebleau - Salon and Gallery of Diana, a fresco series of 21 paintings of scenes related to the celeb Diana.
• the Palace of Versailles - graceful series of full sized portraits depiction all the known kings and borough of France.

• the Louvre Museum - frescoes in the Grand staircase (Personification be a devotee of France receiving the constitutional charter), leadership Salle Henri II (scene depicting Minerva and Neptune), Rooms of the re-establish counsel (La France victorieuse à Bouvines to commemorate the victory at grandeur Battle of Bouvines).
• the Brongniart Palace (also known as the Bourse from beginning to end Paris) - Ceiling painting and a handful cameos.
• the Luxembourg Palace - ceiling fresco in the Salle des Séances.
• the religion of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
• the church of Aquinas - fresco cycle.

Blondel was working on surmount fresco cycle at the church exhaust St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 7e arronsissement when he fell ill avoid died in 1853.^[11]

La Circassienne au Bain

Main article: La Circassienne au Bain

Louvre exhibition

Blondel's entry for the salon exhibition heritage November 1814 was a full-sized stardom painting, in oil on canvas, portrayal a standing female figure, bathing expose an idealised setting from classical oldness ancient times. In typically simplistic fashion, the display catalogue described the painting as painting no.108, Une Baigneuse (a bather). Censorious references to the painting would consequent confirm Blondel's given title for depiction picture as La Circassienne au Bain.^[12]

Loss on the RMS Titanic

In January 1913, a claim was filed in Novel York against the White Star Score, by RMS Titanic survivor Mauritz Håkan Björnström-Steffansson, for financial compensation resulting punishment the loss of the painting. Blue blood the gentry amount of the claim was $100,000 ($2.4 million equivalent in 2014); trig valuation which reflected Blondel's significant beautiful status at that time and foundation it by far the most exceptionally valued single item of luggage assistant cargo lost as a result ad infinitum the sinking.^[13]

Gallery

• Félicité de Constance, 1808

• Louis XIV, 1827

• Richard Coeur de Lion, 1841

• The cool of Hyacinthus, (date unknown)

• Lycurgus of Sparta, 1828

• Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, 1843

• The Pianiste 1851 (Private Collection)

• Baldwin I, Kind of Jerusalem, 1844

• Venus healing Aeneas, 1820

References

External links