Charles Othon Frédéric Jean-Baptiste de Clarac
Encyclopedia
Charles Othon Frédéric Jean-Baptiste, Comte de Clarac (1777, Paris - 1847, Paris) was a French artist, scholar and archaeologist.
, he travelled round Europe, finding success in drawing and archaeology. He became tutor to the children of Joachim Murat
, king of Naples, and was charged by Murat with showing them round the ruins of Pompeii
. He returned to France under the Consulate
, and was made conservator of antiquities at the Louvre in 1818. In 1838 he was admitted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts
as a free member.
Highly talented at drawing, he accompanied the diplomatic mission of the Duke of Luxemburg, extraordinary ambassador to king Louis XVIII, to Brazil. On the shores of the Paraîbo do Sul, in the woods of Rio Bonito
to the north of Rio de Janeiro
, he made several signed croquis
, and once he was back in Europe worked them up into a large watercolour of the untouched and primitive forest interior of Brazil. The resulting work (also the result of minute study of tropical plants cultivated in the greenhouses of prince Maximilien zu Wied
's château), Forêt vierge du Brésil, was shown at the Salon of 1819. From its vegetal profusion emanates an organic luxuriance which several photographers later tried to emulate and reproduce. The famous naturalist Alexander von Humboldt
, who had in his "Essay on the Geography of Plants" demanded that artists go to the New World and paint the richness of its vegetation, bought the work due to "its organic sense of the detail emanating from the totality of nature". It was acquired by the Louvre's "département des Arts graphiques" in 2004, and in 2005 a special exhibition was centred on it.http://www.lekti-ecriture.com/editeurs/Le-comte-de-Clarac-et-la-foret.htmlhttp://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/detail_production.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673417398&CURRENT_LLV_FICHE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673417398&CURRENT_LLV_PROD%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395181129&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500946
Life
Emigrating on the RevolutionFrench 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...
, he travelled round Europe, finding success in drawing and archaeology. He became tutor to the children of Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
, king of Naples, and was charged by Murat with showing them round the ruins of Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
. He returned to France under the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
, and was made conservator of antiquities at the Louvre in 1818. In 1838 he was admitted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
as a free member.
Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro
Rio Bonito is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 52,529 and its area is 462 km².- Site :...
to the north of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, he made several signed croquis
Croquis
Croquis drawing is quick and sketchy drawing of a live model. Croquis drawings are usually made in a few minutes, after which the model changes pose and another croquis is drawn....
, and once he was back in Europe worked them up into a large watercolour of the untouched and primitive forest interior of Brazil. The resulting work (also the result of minute study of tropical plants cultivated in the greenhouses of prince Maximilien zu Wied
Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied
Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied was a German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist....
's château), Forêt vierge du Brésil, was shown at the Salon of 1819. From its vegetal profusion emanates an organic luxuriance which several photographers later tried to emulate and reproduce. The famous naturalist Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, who had in his "Essay on the Geography of Plants" demanded that artists go to the New World and paint the richness of its vegetation, bought the work due to "its organic sense of the detail emanating from the totality of nature". It was acquired by the Louvre's "département des Arts graphiques" in 2004, and in 2005 a special exhibition was centred on it.http://www.lekti-ecriture.com/editeurs/Le-comte-de-Clarac-et-la-foret.htmlhttp://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/detail_production.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673417398&CURRENT_LLV_FICHE%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673417398&CURRENT_LLV_PROD%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395181129&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723696500946
Works
Besides a Catalogue du musée du Louvre and a Manuel de l'histoire de l'art, 1847, 3 volumes in-12, he wrote Musée de sculpture antique et moderne, 1826–1855, 6 volumes in-8, with plates in-4, a magnficient publication which used up his fortune and which he was unable to finish before his death.Source
- "Charles Othon Frédéric Jean-Baptiste de Clarac", in Marie-Nicolas Bouillet and Alexis Chassang (dir.), Dictionnaire universel d'histoire et de géographie, 1878
- Forêt vierge du Brésil - Louvre catalogue