Marie Alexandre Lenoir (27 December 1761 – 11 June 1839) was a French archaeologist. Self-taught, he devoted himself to saving France's historic monuments, sculptures and tombs from the ravages of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, notably those of Saint-Denis and Sainte-Geneviève.

Life

The ravages of the Revolution caused the birth of the Musée des monuments français. Thanks to support from

Jean Sylvain Bailly Jean Sylvain Bailly (; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of P ...

, Alexandre Lenoir successfully demanded that all art objects from state properties be gathered together in this museum. These objects were confiscated at different religious houses and stored in a single place to avoid their dispersal and destruction. Mandated by the National Constituent Assembly in 1791, he brought together the various objects he sought to conserve in the Couvent des Petits Augustins, a building which later was converted to become the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French '' grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scien ...

. On 1 August 1793, the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

decreed that the tombs of "former kings" should be destroyed. Alexandre Lenoir witnessed the destruction of the royal tombs, with the bones thrown into a ditch. He struggled against revolutionary vandalism and managed to save statues and loot which he stored at the couvent des Petits-Augustins. In 1795, he opened the Musée des monuments français to the public — he was its administrator for 30 years. In October 1796, Lenoir was among a number of artists who signed a petition supporting plans to seize works of art from Rome, in response to an early artists' petition orchestrated by

Quatremère de Quincy Antoine-Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy (21 October 1755 – 28 December 1849) was a French armchair archaeologist and architectural theorist, a Freemason, and an effective arts administrator and influential writer on art. Life Born in Paris, ...

that remonstrated against these plans. In 1816, under the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

, he had to return the majority of his collections to their former public and private owners. His wife, Adélaïde Binart (1771–1832), exhibited at the Salons under the name Adélaïde Lenoir. Lenoir died on 11 June 1839 and is buried in

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

Portraits

* By Marie-Geneviève Bouliard, exhibited at the 1796

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

, bought by the

musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is dedicated to the history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, the civil servant who ...

in 1899 * By

Pierre-Maximilien Delafontaine Pierre-Maximilien Delafontaine (1777 – 1 December 1860) was a French painter. After a long illness he re-established himself as a bronze sculptor. Life He was born in Paris to Jean-Baptiste-Maximilien Delafontaine and Marie-Louise de La Brière ...

, dated 1799, given by Alexandre's grandson Alfred Lenoir to the

musée national du château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

* By

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away fr ...

- begun in France and completed in 1817 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, acquired in 1921 by the

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 ...

Gallery

Image:Alexandre Lenoir by Marie Bouliard.jpg, Alexandre Lenoir by Marie-Geneviève Bouliard
1796. Image:Alexandre Lenoir - Vue du tombeau d'Abélard à Saint-Marcel.jpg, View of the tomb of

Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed descr ...

at Saint-Marcel near

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...

.
Engraving after a drawing by Alexandre Lenoir. Image:Alexandre Lenoir avec Napoléon et Joséphine au Musée des monuments français.jpg, Napoleon and

Joséphine Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places * Josephine, Texas, United States * Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine C ...

visiting the Musée des monuments français with Alexandre Lenoir. Image:Alexandre Lenoir by Pierre-Maximilien Delafontaine.jpg, Alexandre Lenoir by

.
Alexandre Lenoir holding the urn containing the ashes of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

in front of the tomb of

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin onc ...

on show at the Musée.

Bibliography

* *Louis Courajod, ''Alexandre Lenoir, son journal et le Musée des monuments français'', H. Champion, Paris, 3 vol., 1878–1887 * *

External links

Biography on insecula.com

The Musée des monuments français on the Réunion des musées français site

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenoir 1761 births 1839 deaths French medievalists French Roman Catholics French archaeologists French curators Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery French male non-fiction writers