Jean-Joseph Patu de Rosemont
Encyclopedia
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...
painter. He is mostly known for watercolours depicting landscapes from La Réunion
La Reunion
La Reunion may refer to:* La Reunion , a communal settlement near present-day Dallas, Texas*La Réunion, Lot-et-Garonne, a town in the Lot-et-Garonne department of France*Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar...
, where he lived from 1788. Some of his paintings show the Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise : "Peak of the Furnace" is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands , Stromboli, Etna and Mount Erebus in Antarctica...
, whose he was one of the first known explorators.
Biography
Patu de Rosemont was born to Antoine-Henry Patu des Hauts-Champs, squire, counselor to the King and auditor at the Chambre des comptesChambre des comptes
Under the French monarchy, the Courts of Accounts were sovereign courts specialising in financial affairs. The Court of Accounts in Paris was the oldest and the forerunner of today's French Court of Audit...
of Paris. Aged 20, he enlisted as an auxiliary officer in the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
; his ship was wrecked near Isle Bourbon in 1788. In 1790, he married Jeanne Tarsile Bregeault. The next year, he took part in a scientific expedition led by Alexis Bert at Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise : "Peak of the Furnace" is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands , Stromboli, Etna and Mount Erebus in Antarctica...
, the active volcano of the island. He explored tis tip on 29 July, a feat for which a natural formation of Enclos Fouqué
Enclos Fouqué
The "Enclos Fouqué"' is the most recent caldera build by the Piton de la Fournaise, the active volcano of the isle of la Réunion....
, the chapelle de Rosemont, was named in his honour.
When the British attacked the island in 1809, Rosemont took part in the fighting with his son Amédée and their friend Nicole Robinet de La Serve
Nicole Robinet de La Serve
Jean-Pierre-François Nicole Robinet de La Serve was a French journalist, lawyer and politician.-Biography:...
. He was captured during the Raid on Saint-Paul
Raid on Saint-Paul
The Raid on Saint-Paul was an amphibious operation conducted by a combined British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines force against the fortified French port of Saint Paul on Île Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars...
in September and held prisoner aboard the British flagship. After he was released, he returned to France in 1817.