Jean-François Legendre-Héral

Jean-François Legendre-Héral (21 January 1796, Montpellier – 13 September 1851, Marcilly) was a French classical sculptor.

In 1825, he went to Paris with a deputation from Hérault to work on implementing an equestrian statue of Louis XIV for his hometown of Montpellier.

The following year, he resigned from his teaching position and moved to Paris, where he was awarded major government contracts for the Jardin des Plantes, Versailles and several churches.

In his last years, he suffered from a disease of the spinal cord, ceased working, and retired to Marcilly.

[1] His son, Charles, who served as a model for some of his father's best-known statues, married an American and emigrated to the United States in 1854, where he became a Union General during the Civil War, an ambassador to China and an advisor to the governments of Japan and Korea.