
Lionel-Noël Royer (25 December 1852 – 30 June 1926) was a French painter. He was most famous for painting large scenes of the life 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 the
Basilica of Bois-Chenu in
Domrémy.
Life and work
Lionel Royer was born in
Château-du-Loir
Château-du-Loir (; literally 'Château of the Loir') is a former commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. On 1 October 2016, it was merged into the new commune Montval-sur-Loir. in
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
on 25 December 1852.
He volunteered before his 18th birthday for 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 ...
and took part in the
Battle of Loigny-Poupry on 2 December 1870 under the command of General
Athanase Charette de la Contrie. Charette, having noticed Royer's artistic talent, offered to finance his studies at the
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
École or Ecole may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...
in Paris.
Royer became a pupil of
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 ...
and of
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...
. He obtained 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 ...
'' in 1882. He became a
portraitist
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...
and, especially, a painter of historical scenes. His best-known works are ''
Vercingétorix Throwing his Weapons at the Feet of Caesar'' (1899), and the decoration of the Basilica of Domrémy dedicated to
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 illustrated supplements of newspapers of the era, he was a commentator on current affairs, in particular supplying drawings of ''
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
in his prison'' or ''
Auguste Comte
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte (; ; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the ...
and his three muses.''
In memory of his participation in the battle of Loigny, he donated two paintings to the rebuilt church of this village, the first representing the mass attended by the volunteers before leaving for the battle and the second depicting the nocturnal agony of the severely wounded
General de Sonis on the battlefield. In 1897, he made a gift to the ''Société historique et archéologique du
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
'' (of which he was a member, as was fellow artist
Albert Maignan
Albert Pierre René Maignan (14 October 1845 – 29 September 1908) was a French history painter and illustrator.
Biography
In 1864, he left his hometown to study law in Paris, earning his diploma in 1866. During his studies he also paint ...
) of ten
watercolors depicting the ''Life of Joan of Arc'', which had been unsuccessful entries in a contest of 1893 for new designs for windows in
Orléans Cathedral.
"The battle scenes at Orléans before the fortress or at Compiègne
Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' ().
Administration
Compiègne is t ...
offer Royer, the painter of historical scenes, an opportunity to demonstrate his skill in composition, with the tangle of armour-clad bodies and the play of lances. To elicit emotion, both allegory and the marvellous come to the aid of history. ..Lionel Royer relies heavily on the precise depiction of historical sites. ..Joan, alone in the foreground, is the means by which a possible reconciliation between the political and religious spheres is suggested. ..By the evocative synthesis he achieves and the deep feeling he introduces here, the painter leaves interpretation open to each observer." (Chantal Bouchon - ''Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine'')
Royer reprised this Johannic iconography (assisted by
Charles Lorin
Charles Jean Baptiste Claude Lorin was a French glass painter and manufacturer. He was born on October 16, 1866, in Chartres, the capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in France, and died in the same city on April 23, 1940.
About
Charles Lori ...
of
Chartres
Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...
, master glazier) at the basilica of
Domrémy. In the window entitled ''Dépôt de l’épée de Fierbois par un ange'', the face of
Jean Poton de Xaintrailles bears the features of the architect
Paul Sédille.
"Despite indications of the influence of the figures by Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
esque and Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...
esque reminiscences, these windows have a connotation of appeals to vengeance, in the vicinity of Domrémy, so charged with symbolic significance." (Chantal Bouchon - ''Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine'')
Royer had two daughters and a son. The son, who planned to become a priest, was injured in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and died shortly after. The two girls raised families in France and
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. Lionel Royer died in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
on 30 June 1926.
Bibliography
* "Peindre l’Histoire – Lionel Royer" in ''Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine'', Le Mans, 1998 (including 10 scenes from ''Vie de Jeanne d’Arc'' by Lionel Royer:
Domrémy,
Vaucouleurs,
Chinon
Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...
,
Orléans
Orléans (,["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...]
,
Compiègne
Compiègne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department of northern France. It is located on the river Oise (river), Oise, and its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois'' ().
Administration
Compiègne is t ...
,
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
).
* Chantal Bouchon, "Verrières de Jeanne d'Arc – Participation des artistes manceaux aux Concours d'Orléans à la fin du XIX
e siècle:
Eugène Hucher,
Albert Maignan
Albert Pierre René Maignan (14 October 1845 – 29 September 1908) was a French history painter and illustrator.
Biography
In 1864, he left his hometown to study law in Paris, earning his diploma in 1866. During his studies he also paint ...
, Lionel Royer", in ''Revue Historique et Archéologique du Maine'', Le Mans, 1998, 3
e série T.18, tome CXLIX de la Collection, p. 241-256
References
Biography of Royer(South Coast Fine Art - 3 Oct 2010)
* Jean- François Luneau ''Felix Gaudin - peintre verrier et mosaïste'', Presse Universitaire Blaise Pascal, Clermont Ferrand, 2006, p 406-407
External links
Portraits of the marquis and marquise de Broc(
Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
)
A girl and her doll(South Coast Fine Art - 3 Oct 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royer, Lionel
1852 births
1926 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
19th-century painters of historical subjects
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
École des Beaux-Arts alumni
French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
French portrait painters
People from Sarthe
Prix de Rome for painting
19th-century French male artists