Paul Dubois
Encyclopedia
Paul Dubois was a significant French
sculptor
and painter
.
He was born at Nogent-sur-Seine
. He studied law
to please his family, and art to please himself, and finally adopted the latter, and placed himself in the atelier of Armand Toussaint (1806–1862), a former pupil of David d'Angers
. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts
, Dubois went to Rome
. His first contributions to the Paris Salon
(1860) were bust
s of The Countess de B and A Child. For his first exhibited statues, The Infant St John the Baptist
and Narcissus at the Bath (1863), he was awarded a medal of the second class. The statue of the Infant St John, which had been modelled in Florence
in 1860, was exhibited in Paris
in bronze
, and was acquired by the French State for the Musée du Luxembourg
. A Florentine Singer of the Fifteenth Century (depicted in doublet and hose playing a lute
), for a time one of the most reproduced statuettes in Europe, was shown in 1865. A Virgin and Child appeared in the Exposition Universelle (1867)
; The Birth of Eve was produced in 1873, and was followed by striking busts of Jean-Jacques Henner
, Dr Joseph Marie Jules Parrot of the Hôpital des Enfants, Paul Baudry, Louis Pasteur
, Charles Gounod
and Léon Bonnat
, remarkable alike for life, vivacity, likeness, refinement and subtle handling.
The chief work of Paul Dubois was The Tomb of General Lamoricière
in the Cathedral of Nantes
, conceived in the Renaissance
spirit, with allegorical
figures and groups representing Warlike Courage
, Charity
, Faith
and Meditation
, as well as bas-reliefs and enrichments; the two first-named works were separately exhibited in the Salon of 1877. The medallions represent Wisdom
, Hope
, Justice
, Force
, Rhetoric
, Prudence
and Religion
. The statue of the Constable Anne de Montmorency
was executed for Chantilly
, and that of Joan of Arc
(1889) for the town of Rheims. The Italian
influence which characterized the earlier work of Dubois disappeared as his own individuality became clearly asserted.
As a painter he restricted himself mainly to portraiture. My Children (1876) being probably his most noteworthy achievement.
His drawings and copies after the Old Masters are of peculiar excellence: they include The Dead Christ
(after Sebastian del Piombo) and Adam and Eve
(after Raphael
). In 1873 Dubois was appointed keeper of the Musée du Luxembourg, at the time the repository of the national collection of modern art. He succeeded Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume
as director of the École des Beaux-Arts
, 1878, and Jean-Joseph Perraud
as member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts
. Twice at the Paris Salon
he obtained the medal of honour (1865 and 1876), and also at the Exposition Universelle (1878)
. He also won numerous other distinctions, and was appointed grand cross of the Legion of Honour
. He was made a member of several European orders, and in 1895 was elected an honorary foreign academician of the Royal Academy
, London. He died in Paris in 1905.
Please update as needed.
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...
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...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
He was born at Nogent-sur-Seine
Nogent-sur-Seine
Nogent-sur-Seine is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-Personalities:Camille Claudel lived in Nogent-sur-Seine with her family from 1876 to 1879....
. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
to please his family, and art to please himself, and finally adopted the latter, and placed himself in the atelier of Armand Toussaint (1806–1862), a former pupil of David d'Angers
Pierre Jean David
Pierre-Jean David , usually called David d'Angers, was a French sculptor.He was born at Angers. His father was a sculptor or a mason, but had gone into the army as a musketeer, fighting against the Chouans of La Vendée. He returned to his trade at the end of the civil war to find his customers...
. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, Dubois went to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. His first contributions to the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
(1860) were bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
s of The Countess de B and A Child. For his first exhibited statues, The Infant St John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and Narcissus at the Bath (1863), he was awarded a medal of the second class. The statue of the Infant St John, which had been modelled in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1860, was exhibited in Paris
Paris
Paris 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 bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, and was acquired by the French State for the Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg is a museum in Paris, France. It occupies the east wing of the Palais du Luxembourg, whose matching west wing originally housed Ruben's Marie de' Medici cycle. Since 2000 it has been run by the French Ministry of Culture and the Senate and is devoted to temporary exhibitions...
. A Florentine Singer of the Fifteenth Century (depicted in doublet and hose playing a lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
), for a time one of the most reproduced statuettes in Europe, was shown in 1865. A Virgin and Child appeared in the Exposition Universelle (1867)
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
; The Birth of Eve was produced in 1873, and was followed by striking busts of Jean-Jacques Henner
Jean-Jacques Henner
Jean-Jacques Henner was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato and chiaroscuro in painting nudes, religious subjects, and portraits....
, Dr Joseph Marie Jules Parrot of the Hôpital des Enfants, Paul Baudry, Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
, Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
and Léon Bonnat
Léon Bonnat
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was a French painter.He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. While tending his father's shop, he copied engravings of works by the Old Masters, developing a passion for drawing...
, remarkable alike for life, vivacity, likeness, refinement and subtle handling.
The chief work of Paul Dubois was The Tomb of General Lamoricière
Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière
Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière was a French general.-Life:He was born at Nantes, and entered the Engineers in 1828. He served in the Algerian campaigns from 1830 onwards, and by 1840 he had risen to the grade of maréchal-de-camp . Three years later he was made a general of division...
in the Cathedral of Nantes
Nantes Cathedral
Nantes Cathedral or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Nantes , is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France...
, conceived in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
spirit, with allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
figures and groups representing Warlike Courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, Charity
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
, Faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and Meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, as well as bas-reliefs and enrichments; the two first-named works were separately exhibited in the Salon of 1877. The medallions represent Wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
, Hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
, Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
, Force
Force
In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...
, Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, Prudence
Prudence
Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues .The word comes from Old French prudence , from Latin...
and Religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. The statue of the Constable Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...
was executed for Chantilly
Château de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
, and that of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
(1889) for the town of Rheims. The Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
influence which characterized the earlier work of Dubois disappeared as his own individuality became clearly asserted.
As a painter he restricted himself mainly to portraiture. My Children (1876) being probably his most noteworthy achievement.
His drawings and copies after the Old Masters are of peculiar excellence: they include The Dead Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
(after Sebastian del Piombo) and Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
(after Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
). In 1873 Dubois was appointed keeper of the Musée du Luxembourg, at the time the repository of the national collection of modern art. He succeeded Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume
Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume
Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume was a French sculptor.-Biography:He was born at Montbard, Côte-d'Or. He studied under Cavelier, Millet, and Barrias, at the École des Beaux-Arts, which he entered in 1841, and where he gained the prix de Rome in 1845 with "Theseus finding on a rock his...
as director of the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
, 1878, and Jean-Joseph Perraud
Jean-Joseph Perraud
Jean-Joseph Perraud was a French academic sculptor. According to Eaton, "During the Second Empire no sculptor enjoyed a greater reputation," although his style fell out of fashion soon after his death....
as member of 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...
. Twice at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
he obtained the medal of honour (1865 and 1876), and also at the Exposition Universelle (1878)
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
. He also won numerous other distinctions, and was appointed grand cross of the Legion of Honour
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. He was made a member of several European orders, and in 1895 was elected an honorary foreign academician of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, London. He died in Paris in 1905.
External links
Please update as needed.