22 Works, June 29th. is François-Auguste Biard's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #176

François Auguste BIARD (1799-1882)

Le compartiment de dames seules, ou la fumeuse importune/

The ladies' compartment alone, or the importunate smoker

Oil on canvas

23 5/8 x 28 ¾ in. - 60 x 73 cm

Private collection

François-Auguste Biard, born François Thérèse Biard (29 June 1799 – 20 June 1882) was a French painter, known for his adventurous travels and the works depicting his experiences.

He was born in Lyon. Although his parents intended for him to join the clergy, he spent most of his time learning to paint, beginning at a wallpaper factory in Lyon. Eventually, he was able to attend the École des Beaux-Arts, where he worked with Pierre Révoil until 1818, then studied with Fleury François Richard, after he took over as Director. His studies were, however, sporadic and much was learned on his own. He is, therefore, often referred to as "self-taught".

François-Auguste Biard

Mosque in Egypt

Wash bistre

10 x 17.5 cm

Private collection

Auguste Francois Biard  (1799–1882)

At the Seraglio (in The Harem)

Oil on canvas

Height: 33.6 cm; Width: 44.1 cm

Private collection

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Odalisque Fanned by her Slaves

Oil on canvas

Height: 21.6 cm (8.5 in); Width: 26.7 cm (10.5 in)

Private Collection of Emperor Wilhelm II

He also travelled to Italy, Greece and the Middle East. His first exhibition at the Salon in 1824 was well received. That same year, the Archdiocese commissioned four paintings from Révoil's former students, including Biard. In 1827, he travelled again, visiting Malta, Cyprus and Egypt. He later obtained the support of the July Monarchy, which acquired several of his works. In 1838, he was decorated with the Legion of Honor.

François-Auguste Biard

Magdalena Bay, Svalbard/ Norway, c. 1839

Oil on canvas

17x46 cm

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum

A view of Magdalena Bay in Svalbard in a partially snowy landscape. Even though the landscape is snowy and cold, we can assume that this painting is showing a spring or even summer landscape, since there Svalbard is so far north that there is no daylight during the winter months.

The bay was first named the Tusk bay after the Dutch explorer William Barents (whom the Barents Sea was named after), found a walrus's tusk upon landing in the bay in 1596, then after the English explorer, Robert Fotherby claimed the bay for King James I of England in 1614 it became Maudlen Sound. Finally, later the same year a Dutchman, Joris Carolus renamed the fjord Mari mag. where it now gets is name the Magdalena Bay. More on this painting

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Fight with Polar Bears, c. 1839

Oil on canvas

Height: 50 cm (19.6 in); Width: 62 cm (24.4 in)

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum

Three men with spears and knives in a small boat fighting attacking polar bears. Icebergs in the background.

In reality, polar bears are solitary animals and do not attack in packs, especially not while swimming. More on this painting

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

The Minister Laestadius teaching Laplanders, c. 1840

Oil on canvas

Height: 131 cm (51.5 in); Width: 163 cm (64.1 in)

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum

The influential preacher Laestadius, dressed in a big fur coat and a top hat, preaches to a group of Sami people. The landscape is very snowy. Tents in the background.

Biard often painted dramatic scenes from his expeditions and used his imagination to make the paintings seem more exotic. This painting shows the several Sami tents buried in snow with paths between them when in real life the tens were never set up like this, buried in snow. Lestadius was the founder of Laestadianism, a pietistic, Lutheran movement that still is active in northern parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. More on this painting

Auguste Francois Biard  (1799–1882)

Magdalena Bay, c. 1841

Oil on canvas

Height: 130.0 cm 

Louvre Museum 

Magdalena Bay; View from the Tombeaux Peninsula, to the North of Spitsbergen, Effect of the Aurora Borealis was probably completed in 1841, and was exhibited in the Salon of that year, and again at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. Lit by the eery light of the aurora is a small group of survivors, who are not mentioned in the title. Five rest on the snow in the foreground, all but one apparently already dead, and there is wreckage down among the ice behind them. One person’s footsteps lead up to the viewpoint of the artist. More on this painting

Francois-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Walrus hunt of the Greenlanders in the Arctic Ocean, c. 1841

Oil on canvas

Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany

View of the Arctic Ocean, Walrus Fishing by Greenlanders was also completed in 1841 and exhibited at the Salon of that year, and again at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. In a wild landscape of bizarre ice forms, a group of Inuit hunters in their kayaks are confronting huge walrus.

In 1839, he participated in a scientific expedition, led by Joseph Paul Gaimard, that went to Spitsbergen and Lappland (See above). He was joined by his fiancée, the writer Léonie d’Aunet, who published an account of the trip in 1854, entitled Voyage d’une femme au Spitzberg. His sketches served as inspiration for four large panels at the National Museum of Natural History.

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

On the Deck During a Sea Battle, c. 1855

Oil on canvas

Height: 130 cm (51.1 in); Width: 195 cm (76.7 in)

Central Naval Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Auguste Francois Biard  (1799–1882)

Seasickness at the Ball, on Board an English Corvette, c. 1857

Oil on canvas

Height: 98.1 cm; Width: 130.9 cm

Dallas Museum of Art 

This crowded scene is an unusual representation of crossing the English Channel in the middle of the 19th century. The pitching boat disturbs an improvised shipboard ball. On the left, a harpist has fallen between the legs of her fellow guitarist while a young gypsy, unperturbed, continues to ask for money. The people in this painting embody the different ways travelers respond to a situation. Some endure a violent bout of seasickness, tumble on each other, scream, and shout, while others smoke, sleep, or read, following their usual routines. Attention to costumes, different classes, and the minute description of characters creates an invaluable and humorous record of French society in the mid-19th century. More on this painting

François-Auguste Biard

Shipwreck victims on ice floe, c. 1876-1877

Oil on canvas

124.5 x 196.5 cm

Private collection

This is an example of Biard’s ability to portray both the dramatic landscape and beauty of meteorological events in the Arctic. The artist first exhibited this work at the 1877 Salon as Les Naufragés de la Lucie-Marguerite. It is a very fine example of the artist’s lasting passion for Arctic, as well as the public’s continued interest for these romantic scenes untouched by mankind. More on this painting

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Shipwrecked, c. before 1882

Oil on canvas

Height: 130 cm (51.1 in); Width: 163 cm (64.1 in)

National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba

Francois-Auguste Biard

Shipwreck scene in Norway

Oil on canvas

85 x 112 cm

Private collection

He married Léonie in 1840. Three years later, she became the mistress of Victor Hugo. In 1845, she was caught with him, in flagrante delicto, at a hotel. She was arrested for adultery, but Hugo was let go after invoking his inviolability as a member of the Chamber of Peers. She was taken to the Prison Saint-Lazare, served two months and was remanded to the care of a convent. The marriage was nullified in 1855.

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Portrait de l´impératrice du Brésil, Tereza Cristina, c. 1858

Wood and oil

Height: 45.3 cm (17.8 in); Width: 32.5 cm (12.7 in)

Pinacoteca of the State of São Paulo

In Rio de Janeiro, he portrayed members of the Portuguese court, as in “Portrait de l'impératrice du Brésil, Tereza Cristina”, the last Empress of Brazil. 

François Auguste Biard (1798 - 1882) – Painter (French)

Amazonian Indians Worshiping the Sun God, circa 1860

Oil on canvas

Height: 112 cm (44 in) Edit this at Wikidata; Width: 85.5 cm (33.6 in) Edit this at Wikidata

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo 

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Two Indians in a Canoe

Oil on canvas

Height: 50.2 cm (19.7 in); Width: 61 cm (24 in)

Musée du quai Branly

Around 1858, he spent two years in Brazil, where he worked at the court of Emperor Pedro II (See above). Using Rio de Janeiro as a base, he made several excursions into the countryside and to the Amazon, where he was one of the first painters to depict the indigenous people (See above). He was offered a teaching position at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but declined in favor of continuing his travels. 

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

The Slave Trade (Slaves on the West Coast of Africa), circa 1833

Oil on canvas

Height: 162.5 cm (63.9 in); Width: 228.6 cm (90 in)

Wilberforce House Museum, Hull, United Kingdom

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies, 27 April 1848, c. 1849

Oil on canvas

Height: 261 cm (102.7 in); Width: 391 cm (12.8 ft)

Palace of Versailles

In 1315, Louis X, king of France, published a decree proclaiming that "France signifies freedom" and that any slave setting foot on the French ground should be freed. This prompted subsequent governments to circumscribe slavery in the overseas colonies.

Some cases of African slaves freed by setting foot on the French soil were recorded such as this example of a Norman slave merchant who tried to sell slaves in Bordeaux in 1571. He was arrested and his slaves were freed according to a declaration of the Parlement of Guyenne which stated that slavery was intolerable in France, although it is a misconception that there were 'no slaves in France'; thousands of African slaves were present in France during the eighteenth century. Born into slavery in Saint Domingue, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas became free when his father brought him to France in 1776.. More on Abolitionism

Before returning to France, he detoured through North America and painted some scenes depicting slavery (See above). In 1862, his account of his travels in Brazil, with 180 engravings, was published by Hachette under the title Deux années au Brésil.

François-Auguste Biard  (1799–1882)

The Boaters' Bath

Oil on canvas

Height: 64 cm (25.1 in); Width: 106 cm (41.7 in)

Private collection

His paintings of anecdotal subjects were popular with Salon audiences, and he was sometimes criticized for inserting humor in otherwise serious paintings.

Biard died on 20 June 1882, in Samois-sur-Seine. More on François-Auguste Biard

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.