Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
Encyclopedia
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (also called Bernardin de St. Pierre) (January 19, 1737 Le Havre
– January 21, 1814 Éragny
, Val-d'Oise
) was a French
writer and botanist. He is best known for his 1787 novel Paul et Virginie
. In 1795 he was elected to the Institut de France
, and in 1803 to the Académie Française
.
From Antoine-Louis Barye
: Sculptor
of Romantic
Realism
by Glenn F. Benge, p. 8:
He was a vegetarian advocate and he also practiced what he preached.
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
– January 21, 1814 Éragny
Éragny, Val-d'Oise
Éragny is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s.Inhabitants are called Éragniens....
, Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
) was a French
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...
writer and botanist. He is best known for his 1787 novel Paul et Virginie
Paul et Virginie
Paul et Virginie is a novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, first published in 1787. The novel's title characters are very good friends since birth who fall in love...
. In 1795 he was elected to the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
, and in 1803 to the Académie Française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
.
From Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye was a French sculptor most famous for his work as an animalier, a sculptor of animals.-Biography:Born in Paris, Barye began his career as a goldsmith, like many sculptors of the Romantic Period...
: Sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
of 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...
Realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
by Glenn F. Benge, p. 8:
- "Bayre's predators devouring their living prey indulge the emotions in a Romantic way of course, but they also embody a romantically moralizing point of view like those held by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Mme de StaëlAnne Louise Germaine de StaëlAnne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein , commonly known as Madame de Staël, was a French-speaking Swiss author living in Paris and abroad. She influenced literary tastes in Europe at the turn of the 19th century.- Childhood :...
, and Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
. The Oeuvres complètes of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre appeared in ParisParisParis 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...
in 1834 and was surely known to Bayre, for the author was the former director of the zooZooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
in the Jardin des PlantesJardin des PlantesThe Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
and one of the "masters of genuine poetry" for the archromanticRomanticismRomanticism 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...
Mme de Staël. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre maintained that a carnivorous animal in devouring its prey alive committed a sin against the laws of its own nature."
He was a vegetarian advocate and he also practiced what he preached.
Works
- Voyage à l’Île de France, à l’île Bourbon et au cap de Bonne-Espérance (1773)
- L’Arcadie (1781)
- Études de la nature (1784)
- Paul et Virginie (1788)
- La Chaumière indienne (1790)
- Le Café de Surate (1790)
- Les Vœux d’un solitaire (1790)
- De la nature de la morale (1798)
- Voyage en Silésie (1807)
- La Mort de Socrate (1808)
- Harmonies de la nature (1815)