Paul-Joseph Blanc (25 January 1846,

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 ...

- 5 July 1904, Paris) was a French painter who specialized in scenes from ancient history and mythology.

Biography

He studied at the École des Beaux Arts with Émile Bin and

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

. In 1867, he was awarded the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for painting for his work ''The Murder of Laius by Œdipus'' and was named a Professor at the École in 1889. His studio in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

also served as an art school. In addition to his favorite subjects, he produced many portraits of politicians, including

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, ...

and

Paul Bert Paul Bert (17 October 1833 – 11 November 1886) was a French zoologist, physiologist and politician. He is sometimes given the nickname "Father of Aviation Medicine". Life Bert was born at Auxerre ( Yonne). He studied law, earning a doctorate ...

. He participated in the decoration of several buildings; among them the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

, where he painted ''The Vow of Clovis at the Battle of Tolbiac'', ''The Baptism of Clovis'' and ''The Triumph of Clovis''. His decorative paintings may also be seen at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

and the Hôtel de Ville He created a design for postage stamps as well. They featured the figure of

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

and came in denominations from one through five, seven and a half, and ten

centime Centime (from ) is French language, French for "Cent (currency), cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries (including Switzerland, Algeria, Belgium, Morocco and France). In France, the ...

s. They were also overprinted for use in the French colonies and were commonly referred to as "Blancs". The original engraved wooden block used to create the stamps is at the Musée de La Poste in Paris.

Selected works

File:Type blanc.jpg, Two centime stamp. In use from 1900 to 1930 File:Battle of Tolbiac.jpg, The Vow of Clovis at the Battle of Tolbiac File:Joseph Blanc Le meurtre de Laïus.JPG, The Murder of

Laius In Greek mythology, King Laius ( ) or Laios () of Thebes was a key personage in the Theban founding myth. Family Laius was the son of Labdacus. He was the father, by Jocasta, of Oedipus, who killed him. Mythology Abduction of Chrysip ...

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

File:Ruggiero and Angelica by Joseph Paul Blanc.JPG,

Ruggiero Ruggiero () is an Italian spelling variant of the name Ruggero, a version of the Germanic name Roger, and may refer to: As a surname * Adamo Ruggiero (born 1986), Canadian actor * Angela Ruggiero (born 1980), American hockey player * Angelo Rug ...

Rescuing

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

External links

Short biography and photograph
from ''Nos peintres et sculpteurs, graveurs, dessinateurs...'', Sociétés de Beaux-Arts, (1897) @

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* : The "Blanc" stamps and other contemporary designs. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanc, Joseph 1846 births 1904 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters French history painters French portrait painters Painters from Paris École des Beaux-Arts alumni Academic staff of the École des Beaux-Arts Prix de Rome for painting 19th-century French male artists

Biography

Selected works

Further reading

External links