Jean-Léon Gérôme was a famous French painter and sculptor associated with realism and academic art. He is best known for his realistic depictions of mythological scenes, history paintings, religious paintings, and Orientalism. Famous Jean-Léon Gérôme artworks include “The Birth of Venus”, “Prayer in the Mosque”, “Bonaparte Before the Sphinx”, “The Large Pool of Bursa”, “The Carpet Merchant”, “Truth Coming Out of Her Well”, “Working in Marble”, “Summer Afternoon on a Lake”, “Pollice Verso”, “The Slave Market”, “Recreation in a Russian Camp”, and “Leda and the Swan”.
Mini biography: Born Jean-Léon Gérôme on the 11th of May, 1824 in Vesoul, Haute-Saône, France. His mother was Claude Francoise Melanie Vuillemot and his father Pierre Gerome was a goldsmith. Gerome married Marie Goupil in 1863 and they had five children together: Jeanne, Suzanne, Blanche, Madeleine and Jean. The artist died on the 10th of January, 1904 in Paris, France at the age of 79. Jean-Léon Gérôme is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery, Cimetière du Nord, Paris, France.
List of Famous Jean-Léon Gérôme Art Quotes
Photography is an art. It forces artists to discard their old routine and forget their old formulas. It has opened our eyes and forced us to see that which previously we have not seen; a great and inexpressible service for Art. It is thanks to photography that Truth has finally come out of her well. She will never go back. Jean-Léon Gérôme
We have witnessed the end of a world, we are witnessing the dawn of a new one, which lacks the picturesque and above all serenity. The day is not far off when, through our customs, our ways of being, our love of the dollar, we will no longer be French, neither in spirit nor in heart. Horrible to think of! We will be Americans! Jean-Léon Gérôme
What lessons are our young artists going to receive from now on? They’ll all start to do Impressionism! Ah! these people believe they are painting nature, nature so admirable in all its manifestations! What pretension! Nature is not for them! This Monet, do you remember his cathedrals? And that man used to know how to paint! Yes, I’ve seen good things by him, but now! Jean-Léon Gérôme
I begin to have enough of life. I’ve seen too much misery and misfortune in the lives of others. I still see it every day, and I’m getting eager to escape this theatre. Jean-Léon Gérôme
I hate imitators, people who put works together out of older works, these men are blind unless they are looking with someone else’s eyes, and who produce only the mistakes of the master they draw from. Jean-Léon Gérôme
At that time, Paris had nothing to do with the Paris of today: no railways, no bicycles, no cars; we were less agitated, and certain districts, among others the one we lived in and which we called the Latin Quarter, had a provincial aspect in their calm and tranquility. Now everything is changed; we no longer walk, we run like crazy; if we are not crushed during the day, we have a good chance of being murdered at night. It is charming. Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Leon Gerome Self Portrait Painting
More on Famous French Artist Jean-Léon Gérôme
How has Jean-Léon Gérôme influenced your art making? Is he one of your favorite famous French realist painter? Let us know what you think about Jean-Leon Gerome in the comments below.
Related or similar popular artists include: William Adolphe Bouguereau, Jacques Louis David, Ingres, Gustave Courbet and other Famous French Artists.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.