Gros, Antoine-Jean |
| PAINTER (FRANCE) |
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BORN 16 Mar 1771, Paris - DIED 26 Jun 1835, Bas-Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine CAUSE OF DEATH suicide by drowning GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 25, ligne 02, P, 21) |
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Antoine-Jean Gros was a pupil of his father, a miniaturist, and then of J.L. David. He grew into a painter of portraits and historical scens in the academical tradition. He fled from the French Revolution to Genua where he met Alfieri, Fabre and the Countess of Albany. He met Joséphine de Beauharnais in 1794 and Napoleon made him official battle painter. He followed Napoleon on his campaigns and created glamorous works. From 1811 until 1824 he painted the dome of the Panthéon. After the fall of Napoleon David went into exile and Gros took over his studio. In later years he painted good portraits, but in his further work he was never able to reach the quality of his Napoleontic production. At the end of the life he was overpowered by the feeling that he had failed and he drowned himself in the Seine near Meudon. Work: "Bonaparte visitant les pestiférés de Jaffa" (1804, Louvre, Paris). Related persons • met Alfieri, Vittorio, count • was teacher of Barye, Antoine Louis • painted Beauharnais, Joséphine de • was teacher of Bonington, Richard Parkes • was teacher of Chambellan, Victor Armand • was teacher of Couture, Thomas • was pupil of David, Jacques-Louis • was teacher of Delaroche, Paul • quarreled with Gérard, François • was teacher of Huet, Paul • painted Napoleon I Bonaparte • was teacher of Roqueplan, Camille • was teacher of Rouvière, Philibert • was teacher of Wächter, Eberhard von • painted Zimmermann, Pierre |
| Images | ||
 The grave of Antoine-Jean Gros at Père Lachaise, Paris. Picture by Androom (19 Nov 2006) |
 "Napoleon Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole". (1796-1797, St. Petersburg: Hermitage) |
 "Límpératrice Joséphine". (1808, Nice: Musée Masséna) |
Sources • Beyern, Bertrand, Guide des Cimetières en France, Le Cherche Midi Éditeur, Paris, 1994 • Schilderkunst van A tot Z, REBO, Lisse, 1990 • Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909 |
