François-Auguste Biard, born François Thérèse Biard (29 June 1799 – 20 June 1882) was a French painter, known for his adventurous travels and the works depicting his experiences.

Biography

He was born in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Although his parents intended for him to join the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, he spent most of his time learning to paint, beginning at a wallpaper factory in Lyon.Jean Lacambre and Isabelle Julia, ''Les Années romantiques. La peinture française de 1815 à 1850'', Catalog for the Exposition Itinérante, Paris, 1995 Eventually, he was able to attend the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

, where he worked with Pierre Révoil until 1818, then studied with

Fleury François Richard Fleury François Richard (25 February 1777, Lyon – 14 March 1852, Écully), sometimes called Fleury-Richard, was a French painter of the Lyon School. A student of Jacques-Louis David, Fleury-Richard and his friend Pierre Révoil were precu ...

, after he took over as Director. His studies were, however, sporadic and much was learned on his own. He is, therefore, often referred to as "self-taught". He also travelled to Italy, Greece and the Middle East. His first

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, ...

exhibition at the

Salon of 1824 The Salon of 1824 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris between 25 August 1824 and 15 January 1825. It took place during the Second Bourbon Restoration, Restoration Era that followed the downfall of Napoleon's First French Empire, Fre ...

was well received. That same year, the Archdiocese commissioned four paintings from Révoil's former students, including Biard. In 1827, he travelled again, visiting Malta, Cyprus and Egypt. He later obtained the support of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

, which acquired several of his works. In 1838, he was decorated with the

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 1839, he participated in a scientific expedition, led by

Joseph Paul Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequen ...

, that went to

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...

and Lappland. He was joined by his fiancée, the writer Léonie d’Aunet, who published an account of the trip in 1854, entitled ''Voyage d’une femme au Spitzberg''.''Dictionnaire des artistes de langue française en Amérique du Nord, peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs'', Karl David, Ed. Presses de l’Université Laval, Canada, (1992), 1 November 2002, , p.83. His sketches served as inspiration for four large panels at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

The Slave Trade by Auguste Francois Biard

He married Léonie in 1840. Three years later, she became the lover of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. In 1845, she was caught with him, ''

in flagrante delicto ''In flagrante delicto'' (Latin for "in blazing offence"), sometimes simply ''in flagrante'' ("in blazing"), is a legal term used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence (compare ). The colloquial "caught ...

'', at a hotel. She was arrested for adultery, but Hugo was not tried because the infuriated

King Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

did not wish the time of the Chamber of Peers. to be taken up with a frivolous matter; Biard was bought off by a stunning commission, to make wall paintings for Versailles. Léonie was taken to the

Prison Saint-Lazare Saint-Lazare Prison was a prison in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France. It existed from 1793 until 1935 and was housed in a former motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians. History in the 12th century a Leper colony, ...

, served two months and was then placed in a convent for several months more. Hugo was told to leave town. The marriage was nullified in 1855. Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil, where he worked at the court of Emperor Pedro II. Using

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

as a base, he made several excursions into the countryside and to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, where he was one of the first painters to depict the indigenous people. He was offered a teaching position at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but declined in favor of continuing his travels. Before returning to France, he detoured through North America and painted some scenes depicting slavery. In 1862, his account of his travels in Brazil, with 180 engravings, was published by

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...

under the title ''Deux années au Brésil''.Biard, Auguste François, 1798-1882.
''Deux années au Brésil''
(collab.:

Édouard Riou Édouard Riou (; 2 December 1833 – 27 January 1900) was a French illustrator who illustrated six novels by Jules Verne, as well as several other well-known works. Life Riou was born in 1833 in Saint-Servan, Ille-et-Vilaine, and studied und ...

. Paris : Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1862. Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin.

Universidade de São Paulo The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

. His paintings of anecdotal subjects were popular with Salon audiences, and he was sometimes criticized for inserting humor in otherwise serious paintings. Biard died on 20 June 1882, in

Samois-sur-Seine Samois-sur-Seine (, ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is located near Fontainebleau. Culture It is famous for b ...

Selected paintings

File:Biard-FightingPolar Bears.jpg, ''Fighting Polar Bears'' (1839) File:QUATRE HEURES, AU SALON.jpg, Four O'Clook at the Salon (1847) File:Biard Abolition de l'esclavage 1849.jpg, '' Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848'' (1849) File:François-Auguste Biard - Mal de mer sur une corvette anglaise (1857).jpg, ''Seasickness at the Ball, on Board an English Corvette'' (1857) File:François Auguste Biard - Amazonian Indians Worshiping the Sun God - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Amazonian Indians
Worshiping the Sun God'' (c. 1860) File:Francois-Auguste Biard - Dans le jardin.jpg, ''In the Garden'' File:Francois-Auguste Biard - La Poste Restante.jpg, ''At the Post Office'' File:The Artists Den by Francois Auguste Baird.jpg, ''The Artist's Den'' File:Sudden Squall.jpg, Sudden Squall at Sea (1860s), Oil on canvas,

Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...

References

External links

* * Biard, Auguste François, 1798-1882.
''Deux années au Brésil''
(collab.: Riou, Edouard, 1833-1900) . Paris : Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1862.
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin

).
More works by Biard
@ ArtNet
Works by Biard
@ the ''Base Joconde''
"The Artist as Explorer"
@ The Eclectic Light Company {{DEFAULTSORT:Biard, Francois-Auguste 1799 births 1882 deaths 19th-century French painters 19th-century French male artists Painters from Lyon French expatriates in Brazil French genre painters French male painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links