Louis-Ernest Barrias : Entre académisme et naturalisme

The son of a modest porcelain painter, Louis-Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) won the Prix de Rome for sculpture in 1865. He went on to become one of the most famous sculptors of his time and a leading figure in the Parisian artistic milieu. Interested in all applications of sculpture, from decorative arts to monumental statuary, he remained attached throughout his life to a naturalist and figurative sculptural tradition, which he taught at the École des Beaux-Arts until his death. Abundant and eclectic, his work bears witness to the extraordinary development of so-called academic sculpture at the end of the nineteenth century. His ‘critical misfortune’ illustrates the abrupt disenchantment with this art form.

Sharply criticised by some of his contemporaries and then forgotten, Barrias had never before been the subject of a monographic publication. This book aims to shed light on the career and work of one of the favourite sculptors of the Third Republic, whose art, before being rejected, was an expression of the concerns and tastes of his time.