Émile Mâle
Encyclopedia
Émile Mâle was a French art historian, one of the first to study medieval, mostly sacral
French art and the influence of eastern European iconography
thereon. He was a member of the Académie Française
, and a director of the Académie de France à Rome.
, Auvergne
. A pupil at the École normale supérieure
, he received his degree in 1886. He taught rhetoric at Saint-Étienne
, then at the University of Toulouse
. He received his doctorate in 1899. Having taught a course in the history of Christian art at the Sorbonne
since 1906, he held the chair in history of art there from 1912. He was the successor to Louis Duchesne
as head of the French Academy in Rome
, 1923-1937. Among Mâle's many contributions to the understanding of the art of bygone eras were his explanations of iconography and the use of allegory in religious art.
In particular, his doctoral thesis (revised over three editions) l'Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (1899) translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century from the third edition of 1910 (or omitting "The Gothic Image" from title, especially in the US) remains in print and is still a very useful primer for the Gothic art of France.
He died in Fontaine-Chaalis
, Oise
.
Sacral
Sacral may refer to:*sacred*sacrum...
French art and the influence of eastern European iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
thereon. He was a member of 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,...
, and a director of the Académie de France à Rome.
Biography
Mâle was born in CommentryCommentry
Commentry is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins by the Orléans railway.-Population:-Economy:...
, Auvergne
Auvergne (région)
Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
. A pupil at the École normale supérieure
École normale supérieure
An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens....
, he received his degree in 1886. He taught rhetoric at Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...
, then at the University of Toulouse
University of Toulouse
The Université de Toulouse is a consortium of French universities, grandes écoles and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university...
. He received his doctorate in 1899. Having taught a course in the history of Christian art at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
since 1906, he held the chair in history of art there from 1912. He was the successor to Louis Duchesne
Louis Duchesne
Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions....
as head of the French Academy in Rome
French Academy in Rome
The French Academy in Rome is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio in Rome, Italy.-History:...
, 1923-1937. Among Mâle's many contributions to the understanding of the art of bygone eras were his explanations of iconography and the use of allegory in religious art.
In particular, his doctoral thesis (revised over three editions) l'Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (1899) translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century from the third edition of 1910 (or omitting "The Gothic Image" from title, especially in the US) remains in print and is still a very useful primer for the Gothic art of France.
He died in Fontaine-Chaalis
Fontaine-Chaalis
Fontaine-Chaalis is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.On 3 March 1974 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in this commune, in the Ermenonville Forest.-References:*...
, Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
.
Honours
- Member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettresAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-LettresThe Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
(1918) - Member of the Académie royale de Belgique
- Member of the British AcademyBritish AcademyThe British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
- Member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'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,...
- Grand officier of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe 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...
Works
- Quomodo Sybillas recentiores artifices representaverint (1899)
- l'Art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (1899) - doctoral thesis, translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century from 3rd edition of 1910, 1913, Dent & Co., London, Dover Books US (omitting "The Gothic Image" from title, still in print), and other editions.
- l'Art religieux de la fin du Moyen Âge en France (1908) also in English, Princeton 1986, Religious Art in France, the Late Middle Ages: A Study of Medieval Iconography and Its Sources (ISBN 0-691-09914-6)
- l'Art allemand et l'art français du Moyen Âge (1917)
- l'Art religieux au XIIe siècle en France (1922) also in English, Princeton 1978
- Art et artistes du Moyen Âge (1927), also in English, Black Swan Books, 1986 Art & Artists of the Middle Ages (ISBN 0-933806-06-X)
- l'Art religieux après le Concile de Trente, étude sur l'iconographie de la fin du XVIe, du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècles en Italie, en France, en Espagne et en Flandre (1932)
- Rome et ses vieilles églises (1942) trans. The early churches of Rome, Ernest Benn Ltd, London 1960.
- les Mosaïques chrétiennes primitives du IVe au VIIe siècle (1943)
- l'Art religieux du XIIe au XVIIIe siècle (1945) and English translation: Religious Art from the Twelfth to the Eighteenth Century (ISBN 0-691-00347-5)
- Jean Bourdichon : les Heures d'Anne de Bretagne à la Bibliothèque nationale (1946)
- les Grandes Heures de Rohan (1947)
- Notre-Dame de Chartres (1948) also in English, Chartres Harper & Row, 1983
- la Fin du paganisme en Gaule et les plus anciennes basiliques chrétiennes (1950)
- la Cathédrale d'Albi (1950)
- Histoire de l'art (2 volumes, 1950, editor)
- les Saints Compagnons du Christ (1958, posthumous publication)
Further reading
- Gilberte Émile-Mâle, Émile Mâle. Souvenirs et correspondence de jeunesse, Nonette : Éditions CRÉER, 2002
External links
- Biography
- The Gothic Cathedral, excerpts by Émile Mâle
- Website of the Académie française
- L'art religieux du XIIIe siècle en France (Google eBook), 1898