Jacques Clement Wagrez (1846-1908)
[Jacques Wagrez, Jacques-Clement Wagrez, Clement Wagrez]
| Pupil of:
| his father, Farochon, Lenepveu, Pils, and Henri Lehmann |
Jacques Clement Wagrez was born in Paris in 1850 [1846?]. His father was a painter of some ability and
from him he received his first instruction. At different periods afterward he studied, at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts, under Farochon, Lenepveu, Pils, and Henri Lehmann, the two latter of
whom most influenced him. Appearing first at the Salon in 1876 with a portrait and mythological
subject, "Eros," which created remark, and in 1878 his "Education of Achilles by the Centaur"
won him a medal and was purchased by the Government for the Aurillac Museum. He early began to
give much attention to painting for purposes of decoration, and produced many water-colors and
designs for the illustration of costly artistic publications. His "Spring Fairy" is one of a
series of panels intended for the decoration of a private mansion, and the idea is derived
from an old French tale, of the descent from her home among the clouds of the deity who brings
the warm mists, the sunlight, and the flowers of spring, to the earth. The nondescript beast
which accompanies her seems to have been introduced by the artist in a purely whimsical and
fantastic spirit, as it has no place in the legend upon which the picture is based.
Among the studies which Jacques Wagrez has made of the picturesque life of the Middle Ages and
the Renaissance, none has been more fruitful than that which he has devoted to the story of Romeo
and Juliet. He is an ardent reader of Shakespeare and spent a long time in Italy gathering material
for illustration of the play which, of all others, fascinated him most. His "Juliet" is only one
of a number of the finished results.
Previous Artist Next Artist
Copyright © 2007, Mary S. Van Deusen
