Félix Joseph Barrias
French, 1822-1907
Félix-Joseph was born in Paris. His father was a painter on porcelain and taught Félix-Joseph Barrias, who proved to be an adept pupil and was able to earn his own living by the age of 16. He then studied under Léon Cogniet. He won the Prix de Rome in 1844 with his picture of Cincinnatus Receiving the Deputies of the Senate. This let him travel to Italy for further studies.
Barrias made many paintings on religious, historical or mythical subjects. He also made frescoes for the Church of Saint-Eustache, Paris, Grand Hôtel du Louvre and Chapel of Saint Genevieve in the church of Sainte-Trinité, Paris. He was commissioned in the 1860s to contribute an illustration to an album of works on prayer compiled by William Thompson Walters. A large painting by Barrias was exhibited at the 1862 International Exhibition in London depicting the French army landing in the Crimea. In 1868 Barrias painted The Legend of the Golden Fleece on the ceiling of Drapers' Hall, London. Barrias created mural works for the Paris Opera of Charles Garnier, and in the 1880s painted a decoration for the Mercers' Hall in London. Barrias exhibited portraits at the Salons of 1879, 1880 and 1881. He made lithograph illustrations for Didot's editions of Virgil and Horace. Artists who trained in his studio and went on to achieve fame include Edgar Degas, Gustave Achille Guillaumet and Henri Pille.
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