Gros, Antoine-Jean, Baron
Gros, Antoine-Jean, Baron
(äNtwän` zhäN bärôN`grō), 1771–1835, French painter. He studied with his father, a miniaturist, and with J.-L. DavidDavid, Jacques-Louis, 1748–1825, French painter. David was the virtual art dictator of France for a generation. Extending beyond painting, his influence determined the course of fashion, furniture design, and interior decoration and was reflected in the development of
..... Click the link for more information. , whose classical theory he adopted. Napoleon appointed him painter of war campaigns, and his realistic treatment of this subject was much admired. In 1797 he was commissioned to select Italian masterpieces, the spoils of war, to enrich the Louvre. Between 1802 and 1808 he painted his best-known works, The Plague at Jaffa and The Battle of Eylau (both: Louvre) and The Battle of Aboukir (Versailles). His romantic treatment of color and the emotional tone of his works were at odds with the painter's professed classicism. His fame endured until, after the Restoration (see RestorationRestoration,
in French history, the period from 1814 to 1830. It began with the first abdication of Emperor Napoleon I and the return of the Bourbon king, Louis XVIII, but was interrupted (1815) by Napoleon's return (the Hundred Days).
..... Click the link for more information. , in French history), he tried to reinstate the classical manner in his work. He failed and, condemned to obscurity, drowned himself in the Seine. DelacroixDelacroix, Eugène
(Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix) , 1798–1863, French painter. Delacroix is considered the foremost painter of the romantic movement in France; his influence as a colorist is inestimably great.
..... Click the link for more information. and GéricaultGéricault, Jean Louis André Théodore
, 1791–1824, French painter. He studied with Antoine Vernet and with Pierre Guérin, in whose studio he met Delacroix.
..... Click the link for more information. were influenced by his vivid color and his sense of movement.