François Gerard is a brilliant portrait painter
François Gerard is a brilliant portrait painter who managed to achieve success in an era of great revolutionary upheavals
François Gerard (François Pascal Simon; May 4, 1770 January 11, 1837) is a famous French artist of the late 18th early 19th centuries, an outstanding master of the portrait genre. He also became famous for painting paintings on historical and mythological themes in the neoclassical style. The painter’s work was highly appreciated by the most influential European nobles, who often ordered ceremonial portraits from him. The master’s biography is an example of a successful career as an artist in an era of large-scale political upheaval.
François Gerard also trained a galaxy of young French artists as a professor at the Paris Academy of Arts. And the fashionable salon created by the painter has been the center of attraction for the elite of French society for many years.
Biography of Francois Gerard
François Gerard was born on May 4, 1770 in Rome, where his father Jean Simon Gérard held a high position in the French embassy. The mother of the future artist was Italian, and he spent the first 12 years of his life in the Eternal City. It was here that the boy first showed the ability to draw.
In 1782, Gerard Sr. returned with his family to Paris, where he got a job in the office of the minister of the royal court. Thanks to the high position of his father, François soon got the opportunity to attend an elite boarding school for young artists and became a student of the sculptor Augustin Pajou. But our hero liked painting more, so after several years of training with a master sculptor, he moved to the class of Nicolas Guy Brenet.
In 1786, François Gerard attracted the attention of Jacques-Louis David and received an invitation to become his student, which he accepted without hesitation. Subsequently, the famous mentor repeatedly helped his protégé during the French Revolution. Under the patronage of David, the young artist graduated from the boarding school, but in the competition for the award of the Rome Prize he took only second place, losing to Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson.
In 1790, François’s father died and he, together with his brothers and mother, left for Rome for a short time.
But a year later they were forced to return to Paris so as not to lose French citizenship, which the new revolutionary power could deprive them of. The bloody events taking place in the country undermined the health of Gerard’s mother, and in 1793 she died. From that moment on, all the worries about the maintenance of the two younger brothers and the young sister of Margarita’s mother fell on the shoulders of François.
Thanks to the help of Jacques-Louis David, François not only managed to avoid being drafted into the army, but was fortunate enough to have a small studio in the Louvre at his disposal. At the same time, the young artist became a member of the Revolutionary Tribunal, although he practically did not participate in the meetings of this punishing body, citing illness. Years later, during the Restoration, the master had to repeatedly defend himself against the attacks of ill-wishers, reproaching him for his involvement in bloody terror.
In 1795, François Gerard first took part in the Paris Salon with the painting “Belisarius”, which was favorably received by critics. From that moment on, he became a regular participant in the annual Parisian art exhibitions and began to paint portraits on request. By the beginning of the 19th century, the painter gained fame as one of the most demanded portrait painters in his homeland.
The proclamation of France as an empire in 1804 coincided with the beginning of his career for the artist.
After painting the ceremonial portrait of Napoleon I, Gerard instantly became one of the most authoritative masters of painting, not only in his country, but throughout Europe. At the same time, François organized his famous salon in the center of Paris, which was always crowded with influential guests.
In 1812, the painter was promoted to professor of the Academy of Arts, and a little earlier received the title of baron, became a Knight of the Legion of Honor and court painter of the emperor. In addition to ceremonial portraits, François Gerard in those years painted several famous historical paintings glorifying Napoleon’s military merits.
The defeat of France in the war with Russia and the subsequent restoration of the Bourbon dynasty became a serious test for many artists of that time. But Gerard in these conditions showed miracles of diplomacy and was able to quickly win the trust of the new rulers. He was a court painter both under Louis XVIII and under Charles X, and after the revolution of 1830 he successfully adapted to the new government.
But the life of the brilliant painter was gradually coming to an end. Since 1835, his health began to deteriorate rapidly and, despite the efforts of doctors, these problems only intensified. On January 11, 1837, François Gerard died at the age of 66 and was buried in the famous Montparnasse cemetery, where his grave is today.
The most famous paintings by Francois Gerard
The creative heritage of the great French painter includes many famous portraits, as well as outstanding masterpieces of historical and mythological genres. And yet, some of the most famous paintings by François Gerard include:
- “Belisarius” (1795) is the work that brought the artist his first well-deserved recognition. The image of an old blind general carrying his guide in his arms made a strong impression on the Parisian public.
- Cupid and Psyche (1798) is the most recognizable work of the mythological genre, written by the master. It depicts the heroes of Greek myths at a moment of gentle mutual expression of wonderful feelings.
- “Portrait of Emperor Napoleon I” (1805) is a work that has long been attributed to Anne-Louis Girodet-Triozon. The French emperor appears before the viewer in the form of an antique David with a laurel wreath on his head and a scepter of power in his right hand.
- “Entry of Henry IV to Paris, March 22, 1594” (1817) the work thanks to which the artist earned the recognition of the recently restored Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. Depicting on canvas the famous ancestor of the current king at the moment of triumph, Gerard successfully coped with the task and found the patronage of the royal family.
François Gerard is an outstanding portrait painter in the history of European painting, whose paintings still admire millions of viewers today. No wonder his contemporaries called him “the painter of kings and the king of artists”, paying tribute to the skill of the brilliant author.