Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
La Mort de Tibere/ The Death of Tibere, c. 1864Oil on canvas
Height: 177 cm (69.6 in); Width: 223 cm (87.7 in)
Georges Labit Museum, Toulouse, France
Tiberius Caesar Augustus (42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor, reigning from AD 14 to 37. He succeeded his stepfather, Augustus.
In 26 AD he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian prefects Sejanus and Naevius Sutorius Macro. When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Caligula. More on Tiberius Caesar Augustus
Jean-Paul Laurens (28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style.
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
The Excommunication of Robert the Pious, c. 1875
Oil on canvas
Height: 130 cm (51.1 in); Width: 218 cm (85.8 in)
Orsay museum, Paris, France
Depicted people: Robert II of France and Bertha of Burgundy
Robert II (27 March 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious or the Wise, was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031. His 35-year-long reign was marked by his attempts to expand the royal domain by any means, especially by his long struggle to gain the Duchy of Burgundy. He was also known for his difficult marriages: he married three times, annulling two of these and attempting to annul the third, prevented only by the Pope's refusal to accept a third annulment.
He married Bertha, daughter of Conrad of Burgundy, around the time of his father's death. She was a widow of Odo I of Blois, but was also Robert's second cousin. For reasons of consanguinity, Pope Gregory V refused to sanction the marriage, and Robert was excommunicated. After long negotiations with Gregory's successor, Sylvester II, the marriage was annulled. More on Roberts II
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Emperor Maximilian of the Mexico before the Execution, c. 1882
Oil on canvas
Height: 222 cm (87.4 in); Width: 303 cm (119.2 in)
Hermitage Museum
Maximilian I (6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution on 19 June 1867. More on Maximilian I
He displayed an exceptional realism and sense of drama, together with a wide erudition. His paintings, a few of which were widely published through dictionaries and school books, are inspired by scenes from mediaeval and Byzantine history (Robert the Pious's Excommunication, 1875) (See above), but also by more contemporary history (Maximilian's Last Moments, 1882) (See above).
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
The Late Empire: Emperor Honorius, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
Height: 154 cm (60.6 in); Width: 108 cm (42.5 in)
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, USA
Flavius Honorius (9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Arcadius, who ruled the eastern half of the empire from 395, when their father died, until his death in 408. In 410, during Honorius's reign over the western Roman Empire, Rome was sacked for the first time in almost 800 years.
Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius's reign was precarious and chaotic. His early reign was supported by his principal general, Stilicho, who was successively Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). More on Flavius Honorius
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Le pape et l'inquisitor/ The Pope and the Inquisitor, also known as Sixtus IV and Torquemadac. c. 1882
Oil on canvas
Height: 113.0 cm; Width: 134.0 cm
Musée des beaux-arts de BordeauxPope Sixtus IV (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Archives. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.
Sixtus founded the Spanish Inquisition (1478), and he annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. He was noted for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. More on Pope Sixtus IV
A devoted republican and self-declared anticlericalist, Laurens expressed his personal convictions in his subjects, castigating the excesses of hereditary political power (Le Bas Empire, Honorius, 1880) (See above) or religious fanaticism (Sixtus IV and Torquemada, 1882) (See above). His achievement as a decorator was considerable in the Pantheon, the Capitole in Toulouse, the Paris Hotel de Ville, etc. - as well as his work as an illustrator, eaux-fortes and drawings. An important figure of the artistic scene of his time, he magnificently illustrated Michelet's well-known formula: "History is a rebirth".
Arturo Montero and Calvo (1859–1887)
Nero before the corpse of his mother, Agrippina the Younger, c. 1887
Oil on canvas
Height: 331 cm (10.8 ft); Width: 500 cm (16.4 ft)
Prado Museum
The work represents the moment when Emperor Nero , who was the last emperor of the Julia-Claudia dynasty, contemplates, along with other characters, the corpse of his mother, Agrippina the Younger , who was assassinated by his order, in 59 AD.
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Etude de deux femmes éplorées pour le décor du Panthéon/ Study of two weeping women for the decoration of the Pantheon
Oil on canvas
7 x 275 cm. (16 x 10 7/8 in.)
Private collection
Jean Paul Laurens (French, 1838–1921)
Portrait de fillette/ Portrait of a little girl
Oil on canvas
41 x 33 cm. (16.1 x 13 in.)
Private collection
His erudition and technical mastery were much admired in his time, but in later years his highly realistic technique, coupled to a theatrical mise-en-scène, came to be regarded by some art-historians as overly didactic. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting, a genre of painting that was in decline during Laurens' lifetime.
Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the French Third Republic, including the steel vault of the Paris City Hall, the monumental series on the life of Saint Genevieve in the apse of the Panthéon (See above), the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater (See below), and the hall of distinguished citizens at the Toulouse capitol. He also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierry's Récits des temps mérovingiens ("Accounts of Merovingian Times").
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Sainte Geneviève à son lit de mort/ Saint Geneviève on her deathbed, between 1877 and 1880
oil on canvas
H. 65.0; L. 50.0 cm.
Orsay museum, Paris, France
St. Geneviève, (born c. 422, Nanterre, France—died c. 500, Paris), is the patron saint of Paris, who allegedly saved that city from the Huns.
When she was seven, Geneviève was induced by Bishop St. Germain of Auxerre to dedicate herself to the religious life. On the death of her parents she moved to Paris, where she was noted for her piety and acts of charity.
When Attila threatened Paris in 451, she persuaded the inhabitants to remain and pray, assuring them that the attack would be inconsequential and that they had the protection of heaven. Attila’s army went on to Orléans, 110 km (70 miles) from Paris, and was defeated. Geneviève is reported to have had great influence over King Childeric I of the Salian Franks and, in 460, to have had a church built over the tomb of St. Denis, a patron saint of France. More on St. Geneviève
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
La mort de sainte Geneviève/ The Death of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880
Oil on canvas
H. 65.1; L. 41.2 cm.
Orsay museum, Paris, France
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
The Funeral of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880
Oil on canvas
H. 65.0; L. 32.0 cm.
Orsay museum, Paris, France
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
The Death of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880
Oil on canvas
H. 65.0; L. 41.5 cm.
Orsay museum, Paris, France
Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the French Third Republic, including the steel vault of the Paris City Hall, the monumental series on the life of Saint Genevieve in the apse of the Panthéon (See above), the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater (See below), and the hall of distinguished citizens at the Toulouse capitol. He also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierry's Récits des temps mérovingiens ("Accounts of Merovingian Times").
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Project for the ceiling of the Odeon Theatre
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
The Death of Galeswinthe, c. 1906
Oil on canvas
Height: 65.5 cm (25.7 in); Width: 85 cm (33.4 in)
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Galswintha (540-568 CE), or Galeswintha, was the daughter of the Visigoth king of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), and sister of Brunhilda, Queen of Austrasia (Belgium across to Germany). She married King Chilperic I, the Merovingian ruler of Neustria (northern France), in 567.
However, marriage did not suit Chilperic’s mistress, Fredegund, who arranged for Galswintha to be strangled so that she could marry the king. Galswintha’s murder caused her sister Brunhilda to make war against Chilperic, which lasted for some 40 years.
Laurens shows Galswintha lying dead. A young well-dressed woman (presumably Fredegund) views her from the foot of the bed. Just outside the room, on the other side of a drawn curtain, is a man, who looks in through a gap in that curtain. He is presumably King Chilperic waiting for his mistress to join him, now that he is a widower and free to marry her. More on The Death of Galeswinthe
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
Saint John Chrysostom and the Empress Eudoxia, c. 1893
Oil on canvas
131,0 cm by 164,0 cm
Musée des Augustins de Toulouse, France
Aelia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress consort by marriage to the Roman Emperor Arcadius. The marriage was the source of some controversy, as it was arranged by Eutropius, one of the eunuch court officials, who was attempting to expand his influence. As Empress, she came into conflict with John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was popular among the common folk for his denunciations of imperial and clerical excess. He denounced extravagance in women’s dress, which brought him into conflict with the wife of Emperor Arcadius, Aelia Eudoxia, who considered that his criticism was aimed at herself.
She organised a synod in 403, the ‘Synod of the Oak’, to charge John, and he was deposed and banished as a result. This resulted in riots, and the mob threatened to burn the royal palace. The Emperor called for John to return, and he was reinstated. However, John then denounced as pagan the dedication ceremonies which took place when a silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near his cathedral. John was banished for a second time. More on Saint John Chrysostom and the Empress Eudoxia
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
L'Agitateur du Languedoc/ The agitator of Languedoc, c. 1887
Oil on canvas
Height: 116 cm (45.6 in); Width: 149 cm (58.6 in)
Musée des Augustins de Toulouse, France
Jean-Paul Laurence
Interrogation at the Inquisition Tribunal
Oil on canvas
83.5 x 125.5 cm
State Hermitage Museum
Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921)
After the interrogation
Oil on Canvas
32.2 x 48 in. / 81.9 x 121.9 cm.
Private collection
Laurens was highly respected teacher at the Académie Julian, Paris, and a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he taught André Dunoyer de Segonzac and George Barbier. He died in Paris, aged 82. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934) and Jean-Pierre Laurens (1875–1932), both also became painters and teachers at the Académie Julian. More on Jean-Paul Laurens and Laurence des Cars
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