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Jean-Paul Laurens
1838-1921
French, Academic Classicists Painter and Sculptor
Stylistically influenced by the following painters - Adolphe-William Bouguereau, and Thomas Couture
Education - studied under Léon Cogniet and Alexandre Bida
Biography and Description of Jean-Paul Laurens's 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.
About the Academic Classicism Painting Style
Followers of this movement were 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. It is characterized by adhering to a strict manner of painting, following narrow compositional rules and delicacy of color. The atmospheric effects are sumptuously luminescent. According to art historian, Walter Pater "To produce such effects at all requires all the resources of painting, with its power of indirect expression, of subordinate but significant detail, its atmosphere, its foregrounds and backgrounds."
Explanation of the Jean Paul
Laurens Academic
Classicism Painting style
Laurens styled his painting technique on the rigid academic standards
set forth by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. French Academic
Classicism endeavored to join together the
Neoclassicism and
Romanticism
styles into one perfect
style. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, one of the greatest Academic
Classicists observed, "The movement of natural elements cannot be captured
by the brush: to paint lightning, a gust of wind, or the splash of a
wave from nature is inconceivable."
Themes used in Rococo art such as historical and mythalogical were once again in vogue. This style favored interpretations of Greek, Roman and Renaissance themes. Imagery often centered around Biblical stories, Arthurian legends and mythology. According to Solomon Gessner, the great German painter and art historian, "By studying the works of Greek sculptors the painter can attain the sublimest conceptions of beauty, and learn what must be added to nature in order to give to the imitation dignity and propriety.
The greatest painters
associated with Academic Classicism,
William Bouguereau,
Paul Delaroche
and
Jean-Leon Gerome,
had an extraordinary way of capturing nature's passionate, "feral"
qualities and yet, at the same time, create in the viewer an almost
inspirational feeling of harmony and serenity. High drama, blithe
sophistication, and unrequited passion characterize this magnificent
painting style.
Famous Painters of Academic Classicists Movement
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
Key Descriptive Words
and Phrases associated with the
Academic Classicism Painting Style -
Classicism, rigid Academic standards, ancient Greece, Rome, Herculaneum,
Pompeii, neoclassicism, romantic movement, European academies, French
Académie des Beaux-Arts, Romanticism, academism, academicism, accademic
training, highly romantic, inspired by historical and mythological
stories, L'art pompier, the Grand Tour, eclecticism, classical realism,
historicism, 19th century, syncretism, academician, Victorian Classicism
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