PAUL

See also:

• DUBOIS
• DUBOIS, FRANCOIS CLEMENT THEODORE (1837– )
• DUBOIS, GUILLAUME (1656–1723)
• DUBOIS, JEAN ANTOINE (1765-1848)
• PAUL DUBOIS (1829-1905)
• DUBOIS, PIERRE (c. 1250-c. 1312)

DUBOIS (1829-1905)  , French sculptor and painter, was born at Nogent-sur-Seine on the 18th of July 1829 . He studied law to please his family, and art to please himself, and finally adopted the latter, and placed himself under Toussaint . After studying at the 1 cole des Beaux-Arts, Dubois went to Rome . His first contributions to the Paris Salon (186o) were busts of " The Countess de B." and " A Child." For his first ,statues, " St John the Baptist " and " Narcissus at the Bath " (1863), he was awarded a medal of the second class . The statue of " The Infant St John," which had been modelled in Florence in 186o, was exhibited in Paris in bronze, and was acquired by the Luxemburg . "A Florentine Singer of the Fifteenth Century," one of the most popular statuettes in Europe, was shown in 1865; " The Virgin and Child " appeared in the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1867; " The Birth of Eve " was produced in 1873, and was followed by striking busts of Henner, Dr Parrot, Paul Baudry, Pasteur, Gounod and Bonnat, remark-able alike for life, vivacity, likeness, refinement and subtle handling . The chief work of Paul Dubois was " The Tomb of General Lamoriciere " in the cathedral of Nantes, a brilliant masterpiece conceived in the Renaissance spirit, with allegorical figures and groups representing Warlike Courage, Charity, Faith and Meditation, as well as bas-reliefs and enrichments; the two first-named works were separately exhibited in the Salon of 1877 . The medallions represent Wisdom, Hope, Justice, Force, Rhetoric, Prudence and Religion . The statue of the " Constable Anne de Montmorency " was executed for Chantilly, and that of " Joan of Arc " (1889) for the town of Reims . The Italian influence which characterized the earlier work of Dubois disappeared as his own individuality became clearly asserted . As a painter he restricted himself mainly to portraiture . " My Children " (1876) being probably his most noteworthy achievement .

His drawings and copies after the Old Masters are of

peculiar excellence: they include " The Dead Christ " (after Sebastian del Piombo) and " Adam and Eve " (after Raphael) . In 1873 Dubois was appointed keeper of the Luxemburg Museum . He succeeded Guillaume as director of the 1 cole des Beaux-Arts, 1878, and Perraud as member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts . Twice at the Salon he obtained the medal of honour (1865 and 1876), and once at the Universal Exhibition (1878) . He also won numerous other distinctions, and was appointed grand cross of the Legion of Honour . He was made a member of several European orders, and in 1895 was elected an honorary foreign academician of the Royal Academy of London . He died at Paris in 1905 .