Artist. He was born with the first name Hippolyte but universally known as Paul. He was born, worked and died in Paris and during the early 19th century was considered one of the most popular French painters. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Paris before becoming one of the leading pupils of Baron Antoine-Jean Gros. His studio was in Mazarin and among his many students were Henry Mark Anthony the British landscape artist, Edward Armitage and Charles Lucy the British history painters and, Alfred Boisseau the American painter/photographer. His pictures were painted with a firm, solid, smooth surface, which gave an appearance of the highest finish and he often first made wax models of his figures to help him develop his composition. He concentrated on historical paintings with great popular success and the availability of engraved reproductions made his work familiar in thousands of homes. One of the most popular of his scenes was ‘The Children of Edward’ (Louvre, Paris), a depiction of the imprisonment of Edward IV’s sons in the Tower of London. While most of his pictures were painstakingly realistic he tended to care more about dramatic effect than historical truth. ‘Cromwell Before the Coffin of Charles I’ (Fine Arts Museum, Nimes) is based on an urban legend, and ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ (National Gallery, London) is represented as taking place in a dungeon, which is badly inaccurate. Some of his other famous works include: ‘Joan of Arc Being Interrogated’ (Fine Arts Museum, Rouen), ‘The Death of Queen Elizabeth I of England’ (Louvre, Paris), ‘Strafford led to Execution’ (The Royal Collection, London), ‘Napoleon Abdicating in Fontainebleau’ (The Royal Collection, London) and ‘Bonaparte Crossing the Alp’s (Louvre, Paris).
Artist. He was born with the first name Hippolyte but universally known as Paul. He was born, worked and died in Paris and during the early 19th century was considered one of the most popular French painters. He studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Paris before becoming one of the leading pupils of Baron Antoine-Jean Gros. His studio was in Mazarin and among his many students were Henry Mark Anthony the British landscape artist, Edward Armitage and Charles Lucy the British history painters and, Alfred Boisseau the American painter/photographer. His pictures were painted with a firm, solid, smooth surface, which gave an appearance of the highest finish and he often first made wax models of his figures to help him develop his composition. He concentrated on historical paintings with great popular success and the availability of engraved reproductions made his work familiar in thousands of homes. One of the most popular of his scenes was ‘The Children of Edward’ (Louvre, Paris), a depiction of the imprisonment of Edward IV’s sons in the Tower of London. While most of his pictures were painstakingly realistic he tended to care more about dramatic effect than historical truth. ‘Cromwell Before the Coffin of Charles I’ (Fine Arts Museum, Nimes) is based on an urban legend, and ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ (National Gallery, London) is represented as taking place in a dungeon, which is badly inaccurate. Some of his other famous works include: ‘Joan of Arc Being Interrogated’ (Fine Arts Museum, Rouen), ‘The Death of Queen Elizabeth I of England’ (Louvre, Paris), ‘Strafford led to Execution’ (The Royal Collection, London), ‘Napoleon Abdicating in Fontainebleau’ (The Royal Collection, London) and ‘Bonaparte Crossing the Alp’s (Louvre, Paris).
Bio by: Peter Cox
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