Félix Émile Taunay, Baron of Taunay (March 1, 1795 – April 10, 1881), was a

French Brazilian French Brazilians (; ) refers to Brazilian citizens of full or partial French ancestry or persons born in France who reside in Brazil. Between 1850 and 1965 around 100,000 French people immigrated to Brazil. The country received the second lar ...

painter, and

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

teacher. He was the father of famous writer and politician Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

of Taunay.

Biography

He was born in a house that belonged to

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

, in the city of Montmorency. His father,

Nicolas-Antoine Taunay Nicolas-Antoine Taunay (10 February 1755 – 20 March 1830) was a French painter known best for his landscapes with scenes from ancient and modern history, mythology, and religion. Early years Nicolas Antoine Taunay was born in Paris, France, in ...

, was also a painter, an aristocrat and a member of the then-newly founded

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

. Taunay and his father left France after

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

's defeat, invited to go to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

by the Marquis of Marialva, Pedro José Joaquim Vito de Meneses Coutinho. They arrived in Brazil in 1816, where Nicolas-Antoine became a

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

teacher at

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of 20 Nov 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e ...

(at the time called Academia Imperial de Belas Artes). Three years later, Nicolas-Antoine would return to France, leaving Félix his post at the academy. He became the academy's headmaster in 1834, and, in the following year, he was appointed as a young Emperor Pedro II's

, drawing and literature tutor. Félix and the Emperor would be very close friends. He then married Gabriela d'Escragnolle, sister of Gastão d'Escragnolle, and went to live with her in the house his father built in

Tijuca Tijuca () (meaning marsh or swamp in the Tupi language, from ''ty'' ("water") and ''îuk'' ("rotten")) is a neighbourhood of the Rio de Janeiro#North Zone, Northern Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It comprises the region of Saens P ...

, near a waterfall. To this day, this waterfall is known as "Cascatinha Taunay". He was proclaimed Baron of Taunay and was appointed to the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose () was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was cancelled as ...

, to the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

and was also a Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1851. He also became a member of the

Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute The Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute (, IHGB), founded on 21 October 1838, is the oldest and traditional authority to promote research and preservation of historical and geographical, cultural and social sciences in Brazil. Its creation ...

. During his final years of life, Taunay suffered from blindness, which made him retire prematurely. Before dying, Taunay uttered "Adieu, belle nature du Brésil! Adieu, ma belle cascade!" (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for "Farewell, beautiful nature of Brazil! Farewell, my beautiful waterfall!"). 1795 births 1881 deaths People from Montmorency, Val-d'Oise French emigrants to Brazil Brazilian nobility 19th-century Brazilian artists 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century Brazilian painters 19th-century Brazilian male artists Order of Merit (Portugal) Knights of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French male artists Missão Artística Francesa {{France-painter-stub