Antoine-Augustin Préault

He was not favorably looked upon by some of the artistic community's elite due to his outspokenness and because he was part of the circle of activists who participated in the French Revolution of 1830.

By the sheer violence of his subjects, the novelty of his compositions and the spirit of his art, Préault may well deserve, as far as sculpture is concerned, the accolade of the greatest poet of unhappiness" Comments by Musée d'0rsay at time of exhibition held on Preault's work.

[16] [18] [19] [22] [23] "The rounded known as Le Silence was created for the tomb of Jacob Robles [1782-1842] in the Jewish section of the Parisian cemetery Pere Lachaise.

Abandoning traditional funerary imagery, Auguste Préault fashioned an enigmatic and mysterious evocation of death in the skeletal face which is shrouded in drapery with a finger touching the lips.

In part the image drew upon the traditional monastic symbol for silence in the cloisters, but here the sculptor also conveys a sense of ambiguity by leaving open whether the figure is living or dead.

His counterpart, holding palette and brushes, portrays Painting, while Sculpture is evoked by the fine feminine profile medallion on the plinth.

An 1857 critic lauded Préault's génies—the French term for angels on civic buildings—as "having nothing of that charming preciousness of those of the 18th century: they are strong and dense children, as a well-grounded art could form them: they dare to have muscles and stand out in vigorous contours against the sky."

The general movement in a spiral, the violence between the opposition of the position of shoulders and hips, all combine to give this figure a feeling of unrest"[53] "Ophelia is shown drifting lifeless on the water.

Its sad, poetic mood is typical of the Romantic artists' reading of the work of the English playwright"This plaster relief, subsequently cast in bronze by Thiebaut, dates to 1876.