Antoine-Jean Gros facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros at age 20, c. 1791
Born	16 March 1771 (1771-03-16) Paris, France
Died	25 June 1835 (1835-06-26) (aged 64) near Meudon, France
Resting place	Père Lachaise Cemetery
Nationality	French
Education	Collège Mazarin
Known for	Painting

Antoine-Jean Gros (born March 16, 1771 – died June 25, 1835) was a famous French painter. He was known for painting important historical events and people. In 1824, he was given the special title of Baron Gros.

Gros learned painting from Jacques-Louis David in Paris. He started his own art career during the French Revolution. Because of the Revolution, Gros had to leave France and moved to Genoa, Italy. His painting of the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Arcole (1796) made him very famous. This painting also helped him become a favorite artist of Napoleon.

Gros traveled with Napoleon's army for several years. He returned to Paris in 1799. He painted many large pictures of battles and other events from Napoleon's life. Gros was also a very good portrait painter, capturing people's likenesses.

Early Life and Art Training

Equestrian portrait of Prince Boris Yusupov, painted in 1809.

Antoine-Jean Gros was born in Paris, France. He began learning to draw at just six years old. His father, Jean-Antoine Gros, was a painter of small portraits. Antoine-Jean showed great talent from a young age. His mother, Pierrette-Madeleine-Cécile Durand, was also an artist.

In 1785, Gros chose to join the art studio of Jacques-Louis David. He worked hard there and also continued his studies at the Collège Mazarin. In 1791, his father passed away, and his family faced financial difficulties due to the French Revolution. Gros then focused completely on his painting career. He tried to win a big art prize in 1792 but didn't succeed. Around this time, he painted portraits of important members of the French government. However, as the Revolution became more intense, Gros left France in 1793 and went to Italy.

Life in Genoa and Meeting Napoleon

Bonaparte at the pont d'Arcole, painted in 1796. This painting helped Gros become famous.

In Genoa, Italy, Gros earned money by painting portraits. He also visited Florence. When he returned to Genoa, he met Joséphine de Beauharnais, who was Napoleon's wife. Gros followed her to Milan, where he was welcomed by her husband, Napoleon Bonaparte.

After Gros painted the famous scene Bonaparte at the pont d'Arcole, Napoleon gave him a special job. This job allowed Gros to travel with the army. In 1797, Gros was given the task of choosing valuable art and treasures to be sent to the Louvre museum.

Return to Paris

In 1799, Gros left Genoa and traveled back to Paris. By early 1801, he had set up his art studio. He created a study for a painting called Battle of Nazareth, which won a prize in 1802. However, the full painting was never finished.

Gros was then asked to paint Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa. This important painting is now in the Louvre museum. After that, in 1806, he painted Battle of Abukir, 25 July 1799, which is now at Versailles. In 1808, he completed Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau, also now in the Louvre.

The Salon of 1804

Napoleon at the Pyramids in 1798, painted in 1810.

Lieutenant Charles Legrand, painted around 1810.

At the Salon of 1804, a major art exhibition, Gros showed his painting Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa for the first time. This painting truly launched his successful career. It shows Bonaparte in Jaffa visiting soldiers who were sick with a serious illness. He is shown reaching out to one of the sick soldiers, appearing brave and unafraid of the disease.

Napoleon asked Gros to paint this scene to counter negative stories about him. The painting showed a caring Napoleon visiting the sick in the hospital. This helped to create a positive image of the leader.

Later Life and Passing

By 1810, Gros's paintings like Madrid and Napoleon at the Pyramids (now at Versailles) showed that Napoleon's support for him had lessened. However, his painting of Francis I and Charles V in 1812 (now in the Louvre) was very successful.

His Fame and Influence

Napoleon made Gros a member of the Legion of Honour in 1808. This was after Gros displayed his Battle of Eylau painting. Gros had many students who learned from him. His influence grew even more when his teacher, David, left Paris in 1815.

During the time of the Bourbon Restoration, Gros became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He also became a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1824, King Charles X of France gave him the special title of baron.

Gros also inspired another famous painter, Eugène Delacroix, especially with his printmaking work. Both artists lived and worked around the same time and painted Napoleon. However, at one point, Gros criticized Delacroix's painting Chios and Missolonghi, calling it "a massacre of art."

Several books have been written about Antoine-Jean Gros and his art.

Iconography

Image	Title	Date	Dimensions	Collection
	Autoportrait	1795		Palace of Versailles
	Madame Pasteur	1795–1796		The Louvre
	Portrait of Madame Bruyere	1796	79 × 65 cm	Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
	Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole	1796	130 × 94 cm	Palace of Versailles
	The Death of Timophanes	1798	44.4 × 57.6 cm	The Louvre
	Portrait of Christine Boyer	c. 1800	214 × 134 cm	The Louvre
	The Battle of Nazareth	1801	136.1 x 196.4 cm	Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes
	Sappho at Leucate	1801	122 × 100 cm	Musée Baron Gérard, Bayeux
	First Consul Bonaparte	1802	205 × 127 cm	Musée de la Légion d'honneur
	Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa	1804	715 × 523 cm	The Louvre
	Gérard-Christophe-Michel Duroc, duc de Frioul (1772–1813)	1805	218 × 142 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Battle of Aboukir, 25 July 1799	1806	578 × 968 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Battle of Eylau, 9 February 1807	1807	104.9 × 145.1 cm	The Louvre
Impératrice Joséphine, painted in 1808.	Impératrice Joséphine	1808		Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice
	Portrait of the French composer Pierre Zimmermann	1808	118.5 × 91 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Equestrian portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte	c. 1808	321 × 265 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Equestrian portrait of Prince Boris Yusupov	1809	321 × 266 cm	Pushkin Museum
	Battle of the Pyramids	1810	389 × 311 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Napoleon accepts the surrender of Madrid, 4 December 1808	1810	361 × 500 cm	Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)
	The Horse of Mustapha Pasha	c. 1810	89 × 175 cm	Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon
	Portrait of General Claude Legrand	c. 1810	245 × 172 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Portrait of Second Lieutenant Charles Legrand	c. 1810	249 × 162 cm	Los Angeles County Museum of Art
	The Apotheosis of Saint Genevieve	1811–1824		Panthéon de Paris
	François I and Charles V Visiting the Church of Saint-Denis	1812		The Louvre
	Equestrian portrait of Joachim Murat	1812	89 × 175 cm	Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon
	General Baston de Lariboisière and his son Ferdinand	c. 1815		Musée de l'Armée
	Honoré-Charles Baston de Lariboisière	1815	73 × 59 cm	Private collection
	Departure of Louis XVIII from the Palace of the Tuileries on the Night of 20 March 1815	1817	405 × 525 cm	Palace of Versailles
	Embarkation of Madame d'Angoulême	1819	326 × 504 cm	Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux
	Count Jean-Antoine Chaptal	1824		Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux
	Portrait of Madame Récamier	1825	62.3 × 51.2 cm	Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
	The Genius of France Giving Life to the Arts and Protecting Humanity	c. 1827		The Louvre
	Hercules and Diomedes	1835	426 × 324 cm	Musée des Augustins
	Portrait of Pierre Daru	19th century	216 × 142 cm	Palace of Versailles

See also

In Spanish: Antoine-Jean Gros para niños

• Félix Louis Leullier
• Napoleon legacy and memory