Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Background

A pupil of

Jean-Baptiste Regnault Jean-Baptiste Regnault (9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to I ...

, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competition not having taken place since 1793. In 1799, his painting ''Marcus Sextus'' (

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

) was exhibited at the Salon and excited wild enthusiasm. Part of this was due to the subject – a victim of Sulla's proscription returning to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to find his wife dead and his house in mourning – in which an allusion was found to the turmoil of the French Revolution. Pierre-Narcisse Guérin - Morpheus and Iris - WGA10971

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin - Morpheus and Iris - WGA10971

Guérin on this occasion was publicly crowned by the president of the Institute, and went to Rome to study under

Joseph-Benoît Suvée Joseph-Benoît Suvée (3 January 1743 – 9 February 1807) was a Flemish painter strongly influenced by French neo-classicism. Biography Suvée was born in Bruges. Initially a pupil of Matthias de Visch, he came to France aged 19 and bec ...

. In 1800, unable to remain in Rome on account of his health, he went to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, where he painted ''The Shepherds in the Tomb of Amyntas ''. In 1802 Guérin produced ''

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

and Hippolytus'' (Louvre); in 1810, after his return to Paris, he again achieved a great success with ''Andromache and Pyrrhus'' (Louvre); and in the same year also exhibited '' Aurora and Cephalus'' (Pushkin Museum) and ''Bonaparte and the Rebels of Cairo'' (Versailles). These paintings suited the popular taste of the

First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

, being highly melodramatic and pompously dignified. The Restoration brought to Guérin fresh honours; he had received from the first consul in 1803 the cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, and in 1815

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

named to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. His style changed to accord with popular taste. In ''

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

Relating to

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

the Disasters of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

'' (Louvre), Guérin adopted a more sensuous, picturesque style. Guerin Jeune fille en buste

Guérin was commissioned to paint for the Madeleine a scene from the history of St Louis, but his health prevented him from accomplishing what he had begun, and in 1822 he accepted the post of director of the French Academy in Rome, which in 1816 he had refused. On returning to Paris in 1828, Guérin, who had previously been made

chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

of the order of St. Michel, was ennobled. He now attempted to complete ''Pyrrhus and Priam'', a work which he had begun at

, but in vain; his health had finally broken down, and in the hope of improvement he returned to Italy with

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (30 June 178917 January 1863), more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who w ...

. Shortly after his arrival at Rome Baron Guérin died, on 6 July 1833, and was buried in the church of La Trinité de Monti by the side of Claude Lorrain. A heroic portrait by Guerin hangs in the

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and was among the first major religious buildings construc ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. An 1821 gift of

King Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was List of French Monarchs, King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spen ...

, it depicts the

Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...

Pupils

Many artists studied with Guérin, among them

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French Painting, painter and Lithography, lithographer, whose best-known painting is ''The Raft of the Medusa''. Although he died young, he was one of the pi ...

, Ary and

Hendrik Scheffer Hendrik Scheffer (The Hague, 25 September 1798 – Paris, 15 March 1862) was a Dutch painter in the Romantic tradition who lived in France for most of his life. In France he is usually known as Henri Scheffer. Personal life Scheffer was the yo ...

.Frédéric Chappey, ''Les Professeurs des Beaux-Arts (1794–1873)'', dans : ''Romantisme'', 1996. N°93. .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Pierre Narcisse 1774 births 1833 deaths Painters from Paris Barons of France Members of the Académie des beaux-arts 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters Prix de Rome for painting 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists