Gérôme, Jean-Léon

born May 11, 1824, Vesoul, Fr.

died Jan. 10, 1904, Paris

French painter, sculptor, and teacher.

Son of a goldsmith, he studied in Paris and painted melodramatic and often erotic historical and mythological compositions, excelling as a draftsman in the linear style of J.-A.-D. Ingres. His best-known works are scenes inspired by several visits to Egypt. In his later years he produced mostly sculpture. He exerted much influence as a teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts; his pupils included Odilon Redon and Thomas Eakins. A staunch defender of the academic tradition, he tried in 1893 to block the government's acceptance of the Impressionist works bequeathed by Gustave Caillebotte.

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▪ French artist

born May 11, 1824, Vesoul, France

died Jan. 10, 1904, Paris

 painter, sculptor, and teacher, one of the most prominent late 19th-century academic artists in France.

 Gérôme, whose father was a goldsmith, studied with Paul Delaroche (Delaroche, Paul). His historical and mythological compositions, such as Pygmalion and Galatea, were anecdotal, painstaking, often melodramatic, and frequently erotic. The surfaces of his paintings were highly finished, and he was fascinated with technical virtuosity. He was a good draftsman in the tight linear style of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (Ingres, J.-A.-D) and an inventive illustrator in the manner of Delaroche. A trip to Egypt in 1856 introduced an exotic element into his painting—e.g., Prayer in the Mosque of ʿAmr, Old Cairo (c. 1860). During the last 25 years of his life he concentrated on sculpture. As a teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts, he counted among his many pupils Odilon Redon (Redon, Odilon) and the American artists Thomas Eakins (Eakins, Thomas) and J. Alden Weir. A highly successful artist, Gérôme exerted great influence in the Paris art world. He was exceedingly hostile to the Impressionists (Impressionism) and, as late as 1893, urged the government to refuse a bequest of 65 of their works.

 

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