Jean-Paul Laurens
1838-1921
French Academic Classicists Painter and Sculptor
Stylistically influenced by the following painters - Adolphe-William Bouguereau, Thomas Couture, and Thomas Couture
Education - he studied under Léon Cogniet and Alexandre Bida
Cause of Death - Heart Failure
Description Jean-Paul Laurens Academic Classicism Painting style
Laurens was one of the most gifted painters of the French Academic style. He excelled in classically inspired religious and historical scenes. He was a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he was well regarded for his intellect and application of theoretical knowledge According to French art historian W. C. Brownell, "An historical painter like Jean Paul Laurens, interested as he is in the memorable moments and dramatic incidents of the past, and exhibiting as he does, first of all, a sense of what is ideally forceful and heroic, is nevertheless clearly concerned for the realistic value of his representation far more than a generation ago he would have been."
Laurens style was influenced by the high standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Academic Classicism attempted to merge both techniques to create the perfect style. The movement is characterized by an emphasis on simplicity, proportion, and restrained emotion.
Although Laurens vigorously opposed monarchical and religious censorship he secured important commissions including the apse of the Panthéon and the mural ceiling of the Odéon Theater.
Related Painters
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1817-1900
Adolphe-William Bouguereau1825-1905
Charles Emile August Carolus-Duran, 1837-1917
Leon Francois Comerre, 1850-1916
Pierre-Auguste Cot 1837-1883
Thomas Couture, 1815-1879
Paul Delaroche 1797-1856
Eugene Fromentin, 1820-1876
Jean Leon Gerome, 1824-1904
Jean-Paul Laurens1838-1921
Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel, 1839-1929
Luc Olivier Merson, 1846-1920
Hans Makart, 1840 - 1884
Giulio Rosati, 1858-1917
Franz Xavier Winterhalter, 1805-1873
William Clarke Wontner, 1857-1930
Fritz Zuber-Buhler, 1822-1896
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