Emmanuel Frémiet (6 December 182410 September 1910) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He is famous for his 1874 sculpture of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

in Paris (and its "sister" statues in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

) and the monument to

Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French Orientalist diplomat and owner of Main Idea of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distan ...

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

. The noted sculptor Pierre-Nicolas Tourgueneff was one of many students who learned sculpture under the tutelage of Frémiet., accessed: 10 October 2015

Early life

Born in Paris, he was a nephew and pupil of

Sophie Frémiet Sophie Rude (; 16 June 1797 – 4 December 1867) was a French painter. Biography Youth and art training Born in Dijon, her father was the assistant curator of the city's museum, a patron of artists and a fervent Bonapartist. Sophie was taugh ...

, and later he became a pupil of her husband

François Rude François Rude (; 4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the ''Departure of the Volunteers'', also known as ''La Marseillaise'' on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic t ...

. He chiefly devoted himself to animal sculpture. His earliest work was in scientific

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

(

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practiced by osteologists . A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, archaeology and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone mo ...

), and for a while he served in times of adversity in the gruesome office of painter to the morgue. In 1843 he sent to the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

a study of a

Gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

, and after that date worked prolifically. His ''Wounded Bear'' and ''Wounded Dog'' were produced in 1850, and the Luxembourg Museum at once secured this striking example of his work.

Career

In the 1850s, Frémiet produced various Napoleonic works. He first exhibited in the Paris Salon at the age of nineteen with a sculpture of an Algerian gazelle. In 1853, Frémiet, "the leading sculptor of animals in his day" exhibited bronze sculptures of Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

basset hound The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of scent hound. The Basset Hound was developed in Great Britain from several now-extinct strains of France, French basset breeds. It was bred primarily for hunting rabbit and hare on foot, moving slowly en ...

s at the Paris Salon. Soon afterwards, from 1855 to 1859 Frémiet was engaged on a series of military statuettes for

, none of which have survived. He produced his equestrian statue of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1868, and of Louis d'Orleans of 1869 (at the

Château de Pierrefonds The Château de Pierrefonds () is a castle situated in the commune of Pierrefonds in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, Northern France. It is located on the southeast edge of the forest of Compiègne, northeast of Paris, betw ...

) and in 1874 the first equestrian statue of

, erected in the

Place des Pyramides The Place des Pyramides is a public square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. It is located in the middle of the Rue de Rivoli, at its intersection with the Rue des Pyramides and the Avenue du General Lemonnier, at the eastern end of t ...

, Paris; this he afterwards (1889) replaced with another version. During this period he also executed '' Pan and the Bear Cubs'', also acquired by the Luxembourg Museum and in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

. In 1887 he exhibited his ''Gorilla Carrying off a Woman'' which won him a medal of honour at the

. It depicts a large

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

with a spear wound in his shoulder, carrying a still-alive female victim and a stone weapon. This sculpture divided critics at the time but is now recognised as one of his most significant works. Of the same character is his '' Ourang-Outangs'' and ''Borneo Savage'' of 1895, a commission from the Paris Museum of Natural History. Frémiet also executed the statue of

St Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

for the summit of the spire of the Eglise St Michel, and the equestrian statue of Velasquez for the Jardin de l'Infante at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. Named an Officer of the French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1878, he became a member of the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

in 1892, and succeeded

Antoine-Louis Barye Antoine-Louis Barye (; 24 September 179525 June 1875) was a Romantic French sculptor most famous for his work as an ''animalier'', a sculptor of animals. His son and student was the sculptor Alfred Barye. Biography Born in Paris, France, Barye ...

as professor of animal drawing at the Natural History Museum of Paris. Frémiet died on 10 September 1910 in Paris and was buried in the

Cimetière de Louveciennes The Cimetière de Louveciennes (Louveciennes Cemetery), also Cimetière des Arches, is made up of a standard laid out cemetery and a landscaped cemetery located on the Allée des Arches in the village of Louveciennes in the Yvelines ''département ...

Sculpture gallery

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Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin (; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his ...

'' in

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

File:Fremiet Elephant.jpg, ''Jeune éléphant pris au piège'' outside the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

File:Dénicheur.JPG, ''Le Dénicheur d'oursons'', Jardin des Plantes, Paris

References

External links

Emmanuel Fremiet
at Insecula (it may be necessary to close an advertising banner to view the page) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fremiet, Emmanuel 1824 births 1910 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery Painters from Paris Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Officers of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 20th-century French sculptors 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Honorary members of the Royal Academy 19th-century French male artists French animal artists Animal sculptors