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Merry-Joseph Blondel (1781–1853) A French historical neoclassical
painter, Blondel was born in Paris, and from a young age, he was taught
drawing. Afterwards, he began working as an apprentice at a porcelain
manufactory where he painted decorations. Afterwards, he was a pupil
of Jean-Baptiste Regnault and he soon began winning awards for his works.
He won the grand prize at Rome in 1803 for his painting Aeneas Rescuing
his Father from Burning Troy. During his time in Rome, he was a fellow
student and friend of Ingres, and his earlier works were similar in
a number of ways to those by Ingres. He was soon awarded important public
commissions such as frescoes in the Louvre, the Notre-Dame de Lorette,
the Paris Boursem and the Château de Fontainbleau. He was granted the
Legion of Honour in 1824, and in 1832, he was elected a member of the
Institute. Renowned for his enormous allegorical compositions, Blondel
was an artist who adhered to the style of his day and was considered
somewhat dated by his contemporaries. |
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