Louis Barthélemy Gustave Paul Larroumet (22 September 1852, Gourdon - 25 August 1903,

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 ...

) was a French

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, literary critic, and administrator.

Biography

His father was an army officer. After completing his secondary education at the lycée in

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

, he initially considered a military career, then began studying medicine, but was forced to quit, due to poor health. Despite this, he volunteered at the outbreak of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, serving with the

Army of the Loire An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by p ...

as a sniper. After the war, he was presented with the

Médaille Militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

From then until 1874, he was a teacher in various provincial schools; passing his exam to become an agrégé in 1875.Christophe Charle, "Larroumet (Louis, Barthélémy, Gustave, Paul)", In: ''Publications de l'Institut national de recherche pédagogique'', Vol.2, #1, 1985
Online
That same year, he became a substitute professor of

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

at the Lycée de Vendôme. Later, he was a professor of grammar at the Collège Stanislas, and the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

. In 1882, he was awarded his doctorate in letters, and was named a lecturer in French literature at the Sorbonne in

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

. While there, he wrote numerous critical works, including studies of

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (; ; 4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. Marivaux is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, w ...

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 great writers in the French language and world liter ...

and

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tra ...

. He also served as Chief-of-Staff to the Minister of Public Instruction, becoming Director of the Sub-Directorate of Fine Arts, under the direction of Edouard Lockroy. He held that position until 1891, when he was elected to 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 ...

; taking Seat #8 in the "Unattached' section. In 1896, he was appointed a special envoy to the first

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in Athens. Later, in 1898, he would publish his ''Journal d'un voyage en Grèce et en Syrie''. That same year, he resigned his seat at the Académie to become its Secrétaire Perpétuel. He was also interested in photography, and was a member of the

Grand Orient de France The Grand Orient de France (, abbr. GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbe ...

Masonic lodge. His wife, Clémence Annat, was the daughter of a doctor. They had two daughters; Jeanne, who married the historian, , and Germaine, who married the sculptor, . Streets have been named after him in Paris, Gourdon, Catus (where his parents were born), and Cahors.

References

External links

Biographical data
from the

Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques The Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS) (''Committee for Historic and Scientific Works'') is a French research institution created by the Minister of Public Education François Guizot on 18 July 1834 for the purpose of 'leading ...

@ La France Savante
"Le médaillon de Larroumet"
from the ''Journal littéraire'' @ the

Paul Léautaud Paul Léautaud (18 January 1872 – 22 February 1956) was a French writer and theater critic for ''Mercure de France'', signing his often caustic reviews with the pseudonym Maurice Boissard. Life He was born in Paris. Abandoned by his mother, ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Larroumet, Gustave 1852 births 1903 deaths French art historians French literary historians Members of the Académie des beaux-arts People from Lot (department)

Biography

References

Further reading

External links