Wounded Niobid (1822), Louvre

James Pradier, also known as Jean-Jacques Pradier (1790 - June 4, 1852) was a Swiss-born French sculptor best known for his work in the neoclassical style. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1852 ( MDCCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and

Born in Geneva, Pradier left for Paris in 1807 to work with his elder brother, an engraver. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it He won a Prix de Rome that enabled him to study in Rome from 1814 to 1818. This article concerns the French government prize For similarly named prizes aimed at other countries' nationals see Prix de Rome (disambiguation. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common He studied under Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in Paris. In 1827 he became a member of the Académie des beaux-arts and a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. Year 1827 ( MDCCCXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Académie des Beaux-Arts (Academy of Fine Arts is a French Learned society. École des Beaux-Arts ("School of Fine Arts" refers to a number of influential Art schools in France. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pradier oversaw the finish of his sculptures himself. He was a friend of the Romantic poets Alfred de Musset, Victor Hugo and Théophile Gautier, and his atelier was a center, presided over by his beautiful mistress, Juliette Drouet, who became Hugo's mistress in 1833. Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay Along with his poetry he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle ( The Confession of a Child of the Century Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist See also Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( August 30, 1811 – October 23, 1872) was a French Poet, Dramatist Juliette Drouet, born Julienne Josephine Gauvain ( Fougères 10 April 1806 - Paris, 1883 was a French actress and the mistress of Year 1833 ( MDCCCXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

The cool neoclassical surface finish of his sculptures is charged with an eroticism that their mythological themes can barely disguise. At the Salon of 1834, Pradier's Satyr and Bacchante created a scandalous sensation. The Salon (Salon or rarely Paris Salon (French Salon de Paris) beginning in 1725 was the official Art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts Year 1834 ( MDCCCXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Some claimed to recognize the features of the sculptor and his mistress, Juliette Drouet. When the prudish government of Louis-Philippe refused to purchase it, Count Anatole Demidoff bought it and took it to his palazzo in Florence. Louis Philippe ( 6 October 1773 &ndash 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the History The Demidov (Деми́довы family also Demidoff, were probably the richest Russian people after the Tsar in the late Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany (It has since come back to the Louvre). The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France

Memorial bust of the duc d'Orléans, 1842 (Louvre Museum)

Other famous sculptures by Pradier are the figures of Fame in the spandrels of the Arc de Triomphe, decorative figures at the Madeleine, and his twelve Victories inside the dome of the Invalides, all in Paris. The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle also known as the Place de l'Étoile. L'église de la Madeleine (more formally L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine; less formally just La Madeleine) Madeleine Church in English is a church Les Invalides in Paris, France, is a complex of buildings in the city's 7th arrondissement containing Museums and monuments all relating Aside from large-scale sculptures Pradier collaborated with Froment-Meurice, designing jewelry in a 'Renaissance-Romantic' style. Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal Ornament, such as a necklace ring or bracelet made from Gemstones

Pradier's importance as an artist in his day is demonstrated by the fact that his portrait is included in François Joseph Heim's painting Charles X Distributing Prizes to Artists as the Salon of 1824, now in the Louvre Museum, Paris. François Joseph Heim ( December 16, 1787 - September 29, 1865) was a French painter. Charles X may refer to Charles X Gustav of Sweden (1622–1660 Charles X of France (1757–1836 The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France

He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris Much of the contents of his studio were bought up after his death by the city museum of Geneva.

Pradier has been largely forgotten in modern times. In 1846 Gustave Flaubert said of him, however:

This is a great artist, a true Greek, the most antique of all the moderns; a man who is distracted by nothing, not by politics, nor socialism, and who, like a true workman, sleeves rolled up, is there to do his task morning til night with the will to do well and the love of his art. For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Gustave Flaubert (gystaːv flobɛːʁ in French ( December 12, 1821 &ndash May 8, 1880) was a French writer who is counted among

An exhibition, Statues de chair: sculptures de James Pradier (1790-1852) at Geneva's Musée d'art et d'histoire (October 1985 - February 1986) and Paris, Musée du Luxembourg, (February - May 1986) roused some interest in Pradier's career and aesthetic. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Musée du Luxembourg is a Museum in Paris, France. Situated near the Palais du Luxembourg, it once housed paintings and Sculpture Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)

References

• Fusco, Peter and H. W. Janson, editors, The Romantics to Rodin, Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1980
• Hargrove, June, The Statues of Paris: An Open-Air Pantheon - The Histories of Statues of famous Men, Vendrome Press, New York 1989
• Mackay, James, The Dictionary of Sculptors in Bronze, Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk 1977
• Nineteenth Century French Sculpture: Monuments for the Middle Class, J. B. Speed Museum, Louisville Kentucky 1971

External links

• Index of pages devoted to Pradier's works (French language)