Bonaventure Laurens

Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens (14 July 1801, Carpentras – 28 June 1890, Montpellier)[1] was regarded by some as a "universal spirit", as attested not only by his paintings, watercolours and lithographs, but also by his vocation as a musician, archeologist, geologist and theorist.

The eldest of five children, born to a slightly Bohemian father, from the age of 19 Laurens set his sights on an administrative career that led him to Montpellier, after a brief spell in Paris.

[2] Self taught as a painter, draughtsman and watercolourist, his talents became recognised and he contributed lithographs for several publications; in particular, from 1835, the series Voyages pittoresques et romantiques de l'ancienne France of Baron Taylor and Charles Nodier, as well as the Monuments du Bas-Languedoc and an account of railways from Lyon to the Mediterranean.

Bonaventure was on good terms with numerous artists, painters and sculptors (Ingres, Pradier, Corot, Cabanel), and was involved in the provençal cultural movement initiated by Frédéric Mistral.

The archives of the Bibliothèque Inguimbertine and other museums in Carpentras contain a large number of drawings and watercolours which provide one of the most valuable resources for 19th-century culture and traditions in the whole of southern France.