Pierre-Narsis
Guerin

French painter and lithographer. Studied under J. B. Regnault. First performed at the salon of 1799 painting "the Return of Marcus Sextus", which embodies sympathy for the refugees from the revolution immigrants. Already in this picture was affected by the characteristic of his creativity, theatricality and love for melodramatic effects. These traits are even more evident in later works, in which he anticipates the salon of art ("the complaint of Henry", 1802, "Andromache and Pyrrhus", 1810, "the Murder of Agamemnon Clytemnestra", 1817, etc.). In 1922 he headed the French Academy in Rome.

The son of a hardware merchant from Paris, göhren 11 years in school at Cor. Academy of painting and sculpture at Taravella and N. The city of Braine, and later by J.-B. Regnault, he participated in the competition 1793 at the Grand Prix of the Academy ("the Body of Brutus, delivered in Rome"). In connection with the closing of the Academy competitions were suspended; however, the competition 1797 geren received one of three Grand Prix ("Death of Cato", the Paris School of fine arts). His painting "the Return of Marcus Sextus" (Paris, Louvre), exhibited at the Salon of 1799, had an unprecedented success, thanks to its sentimental and political reasons. As a "pensioner of the Republic" Guerin performed the painting "Orpheus at the tomb of Eurydice" (orléans, musée des Beaux-arts), and his "Phaedra and Hippolytus" (Paris, Louvre) received a lot of accolades. In December 1803, before leaving in the French School of fine arts in Rome, the artist exhibited the painting "tribute to a Doctor, or FILIAL love" (Arras Museum), received a consolation prize in 1800, the audience was able to appreciate a painting in the Salon of 1804. Geren stayed in Italy until November 1805, having made during this time two trips to Naples, where he could enjoy the ruins of antiquity, combined with the poetry of Virgil. In the Salon of 1808 he exhibited the painting "Bonaparte forgiving the rebels in Cairo" (Versailles, Palace Museum) and "the Shepherds on the grave of Amyntas" (Paris, Louvre), which caused the audience a controversial proposition: in the 1810 Salon "Aurora and Cephalus" (ibid.). This work has the count of Sommariva, is version, written for Prince Yusupov (Moscow, Museum of fine arts. Pushkin, a sketch of St. Petersburg, GOS. The Hermitage), in addition to which was created the painting "Morpheus and iris" (Saint Petersbrug State. The Hermitage). Life circumstances did not allow Hereno to finish the painting "the Death of Marshal Lannes" (Valenciennes, Museum). In the years of the Restoration, the artist was in charge of the work, and remained unfinished and is known only by sketches ("the Justice of St. Louis" (previously - Angers, musée des Beaux-arts); however, he managed to finish the portraits of the generals, adorned the guards hall in Saint-cloud ("Henri de La Rochejaquelin", Cholet, Museum, exhibited in 1817, "Louis de La Rochejaquelin", ibid., exhibited in 1819). His painting "the Prince of Talmont" (Serrano, castle), "Aeneas tells Dido the disasters of Troy" (Paris, Louvre: a sketch - Moscow, Museum of fine arts. A. S. Pushkin) and "Clytemnestra" (Paris, Louvre), attracted the Salon of 1817 the attention of the public. Geren later performed a sketch of a banner for a Gobelin factory ("SV. Genevieve", in Compiegne, castle chapel), and in 1811-1822, "Philip the Bold brings in Saint-Denis, the body of his father Louis the Saint" (St. Denis, sacristy of the Cathedral).

Guerin in 1815 became a member of the Institute of France, and in 1816 Professor of the School of fine arts. In his Studio he studied géricault, Delacroix, Alo, Konya, Schaeffer, Perrin, Orsel'. On special order, he performed four lithographs ("Lazy" and "Vigilant"). In 1816 he was appointed Director of the French Academy in Rome, geren has agreed to take this job only in 1822 and continued six years practically engaged in painting. In 1829 he received the title of Baron from Charles X and, upon returning to Paris, resumed his professorship next to Gerard, Gros and Ingres. During these years, he is working on a large painting "the Death of Priam. or the Last night of Troy" (Angers, musée des Beaux-arts), conceived in Rome. In February, 1833, after a severe illness, he moved to the Villa Medici, where he died on July 16. He is buried in Celui-de-France.

Geren made a brilliant career as a historical painter, he was recognized in government circles and had no shortage of orders, he preferred to choose freely the subjects of their paintings and long to bear. His art reflected a "Roman" preferences of the revolutionary period, and later - the themes of passion, borrowed from the classical tradition. A passionate admirer of antiquity and Raphael and Poussin, he was close to the aesthetics of Quatremere de Quincy. His style is characterized by noble, geometrizovannym of composition, the unity of the parts and special effects. However, all this masks the extreme vehemence of Guerin, which is found in it Baudelaire: "the Last night of Troy," concludes the fantastic work of this dramatist, who occupies a special place in French painting beginning of the XIX century.

Paintings and drawings by Guerin presented in the museums of Paris (Louvre and the école des Beaux arts), Angers, Arras, Bayeux, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Boulogne-surmer, Caen, Reims, Compiègne, Coutances, Dijon, Lille, orléans, Rouen, Thiers (hospital), Valenciennes, Versailles, La Orotava (in the town hall, the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands), St. Petersburg (GOS. The Hermitage) and Moscow (Museum of fine arts. A. S. Pushkin), Cambridge (mA), Hartford and Louisville are national (USA).