Jean Antoine Injalbert was born in Béziers in 1845 and died in 1933. He was one of France's greatest sculptors. He worked in many of the great towns and cities of France and examples of his work can be seen in Paris, Pézenas, Reims, Montpellier, Sète etc. The son of a stonemason, Injalbert first served an apprenticeship with an ornamental sculptor, then entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1866 with a municipal scholarship. His teacher was Augustin-Alexandre Dumont. In 1874 he won the Prix de Rome with a figure of Orpheus, and at the Éxposition of 1889 he won the Grand Prix. His first commission was to create the tympanum for La Chapelle du Bon Pasteur in Béziers.
List of works. "Marianne" and some Injalbert public works in Paris
NameLocationNotesBusts of "Marianne"Various-see notesThere must be dozens of Injalbert's busts of "Marianne", whether in plaster, marble or bronze, scattered throughout France. A "Marianne" bust is almost obligatory for French hôtel de villes/mairies and many of these would be by Injalbert, particularly based on his 1889 model which he had executed to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution and this has been replicated many times and cast in bronze by many foundries including Soit-Decauville. They are always given pride of place and are often decked with the tricolour. Whilst in most instances the work is called "Marianne", it can also be known as "La République". A bust of "Marianne" was also favoured as a centre-piece for public fountains and Injalbert's model is often used, mostly in bronze, which is more suitable in a water environment. However many of the public fountain busts were requisitioned by the Germans during their occupation, or by the Vichy regime The busts were melted down so that the metal could be reused in the manufacture of armaments. Given the volume involved it would not therefore seem appropriate to itemize all the locations of Injalbert's "Marianne", whether in town halls and mairies or used on public fountains. As stated many public water fountains had Injalbert "Marianne" busts incorporated into their design. For example, in Villemagne in the Aude there is an Injalbert bronze bust of "Marianne" decorating the fountain which was a gift from Monsieur Dujardin Beaumetz. "Marianne" wears a Phrygian bonnet and a stole with a brooch depicting a lion's head. This is a version of the 1889 "Marianne" this time cast in bronze by J.Malesset in 1908. Then in Trassanel in the Aude, there is another fountain which featured Injalbert's "Marianne". It was erected in 1927 but the bronze content was requisitioned during the occupation and melted down. The same applies to the public fountain in Paulhan in Hérault.The Pont de Bir-Hakeim ParisThe Pont de Bir-Hakeim is a bridge that crosses the Seine River in Paris. It connects the city's 15th and 16th arrondissements, Originally named the Viaduc de Passy, Passy being the suburb to which the bridge runs. The bridge was renamed in 1948 to commemorate the Battle of Bir Hakeim, fought by Free French forces against the German Afrika Korps in 1942. This Paris bridge has two sculptures by Injalbert one representing "Commerce" and the other "Electricity".Pont MirabeauParisInjalbert was responsible for the four allegorical statues which decorate the Pont Mirabeau bridge in Paris. These are entitled "The City of Paris", "Navigation", "Abundance" and "Commerce". The statues "The City of Paris" and "Abundance" face the Seine, while the two allegories "Navigation" and "Commerce" face the bridge. The four statues are surmounted, at the level of the parapet, by the coat of arms of the City of Paris. The work dates to 1896.Statue of Mirabeau in the PanthéonParisThe Panthéon had started out as a church. King Louis XV had vowed in 1744 that if he recovered from his illness he would replace the ruined church of the Abbey of St Genevieve with an edifice worthy of the patron saint of Paris. He did recover, and instructed Abel-François Poisson, marquis de Marigny to see that his promise was fulfilled. In 1755, Marigny commissioned Jacques-Germain Soufflot to design the church, and construction started two years later. The remodelled Abbey of St. Genevieve was finally completed in 1790, coinciding with the early stages of the French Revolution. Upon the death of the popular French orator and statesman Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau on 2 April 1791, the National Constituent Assembly, whose president had been Mirabeau, ordered that the building be changed from a church to a mausoleum for the interment of great Frenchmen, retaining Quatremère de Quincy to oversee the project. Mirabeau was the first person interred there on 4 April 1791. However, in 1792 his secret dealings with the king were uncovered, and in 1794 his remains were removed from the Panthéon and were replaced with those of Marat. Mirabeau's remains were then buried anonymously. Injalbert was commissioned to create a statue in honour of Mirabeau and this is still in the Panthéon. Mirabeau is shown making a speech.Hippomane/ HippomèneParisInjalbert created this composition in 1886 and it is a work that is much reproduced and in various materials. A copy of the work can be found in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. Hippomène was the husband of Atalanta in Greek mythology. He is usually depicted running, reminding one of Hippomane's running race to secure Atalanta's hand in marriage, which he won, albeit by cheating. The Louis Gabriel Charles Vicaire monumentParisLouis Gabriel Charles Vicaire (January 25, 1848 – September 23, 1900) was a French poet. He was born at Belfort and served in the campaign of 1870. He then settled in Paris to practice at the bar, which, however, he soon abandoned for literature. This work by Injalbert is in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.The tympanum of the Petit PalaisParisThe Petit Palais in Paris was built for the Éxposition Universelle in 1900 and now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (musée des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris). Injalbert executed the relief carving on the tympanum which depicts the city of Paris surrounded and inspired by various muses. Monument to Auguste ComteParisThis statue, honouring the French philosopher Auguste Comte, is located in the Place de la Sorbonne in Paris and was inaugurated in 1902. In the centre of Injalbert's composition is a bust of Auguste Comte and to the left is Clotilde de Vaux depicted as a "Madonna with Child" whilst on the right the "proletariat" give de Vaux instructions. Gobelins Factory in 42 av des Gobelins ParisParisIt was in 1912 that this building was erected, designed by Jean-Camille Formigé. The Gobelins tapestry manufacture was one of France's oldest and most prestigious enterprises. Some of the earlier buildings had been destroyed by fire in 1871 or fallen into general disrepair, so Formigé was asked to design a new building . He decorated the front of the building with four columns each surmounted by a caryatid and commissioned Injalbert to sculpt them and Paul Landowski was commissioned to carve a bas-relief. Today the Gobelins premises consist of four irregular buildings dating to the seventeenth century, plus the building on the avenue des Gobelins built by Formigé. These buildings contain Charles Le Brun's residence and workshops that served as foundries for most of the bronze statues in the park of Versailles, as well as looms on which tapestries are still woven following seventeenth century techniques. The Gobelins factory still produces a limited amount of tapestries for the decoration of French governmental institutions these with contemporary subjects.Gobelins Retrieved 8 December 2013Cercle national des armées, a.k.a. Cercle militaire interarmesParisThis important Army headquarters is situated in Paris. It was built in 1927 on the site of former barracks and designed by architect Charles Lemaresquier. It is decorated with sculptures by Jean-Antoine Injalbert, François-Léon Sicard, Jean Boucher and Paul Landowski.
Works by Injalbert in the Musée d'Orsay
This museum/art gallery has many works by Injalbert
These include-
"Ariane couchée" "Bacchante au Biniou" "Baigneuse" "Baiser" "Confidence" "Enfant" "Fondeur" "L'Hérault" "Satyre assis et Nymphe". "Satyre et Nymphe". "Satyre poursuivant une Nymphe". "Sibylle de Panzoult". "Supplication d'aprés Aubanel". "Triomphe de la République". "Vase orné de mascarons, de nymphes et de satyres". "Maitre Vigeant". "Poemes Idylliques Paiens".
Works by Injalbert in the Louvre NameLocationNotesWorks by Injalbert in the LouvreParis* "Statue d'une femme nue, assise, sur un socle" in held in the musée du Louvre département des Arts graphiques. "Jules Eugene Lenepveu" is held in Angers; musée des beaux-arts. "Victor Hugo". Blois; musée du château de Blois "L'Amour dompte la Force" Nantes; musée des beaux-arts "La République" Bourbon-Lancy; musée Saint-Nazaire "Ermengaud" in Lyon; musée des beaux-arts. "Jeune Femme assise au Tambourin" in Toulouse; musée des Augustins. "La Republique" in Rennes; musée des beaux-arts. "La Republique" in Pau; musée national du château de Pau
Injalbert public works in Béziers' Plateau des Poètes NameLocationNotesThe “Plateau des Poètes” BéziersThe “Plateau des Poètes" involves fifty thousand square meters of parkland that join the lower end of the “Allées Paul Riquet” with the railway station. This garden, designed by the Swiss born architects the Bühler brothers, contains many examples of Injalbert's work, all of which can be seen and admired in an idyllic setting of exotic trees and shrubs. In the park are several busts of Languedoc poets by Injalbert, hence the name Plateau des Poètes. There is also the massive war memorial located at the lower end of the gardens and opposite the Béziers railway station. Details of this are given in the section covering "War memorials". Also in the park is the Titan fountain with its statue of Atlas and a lake containing Injalbert's "Enfant au poisson"Bust of Matfre ErmengaudBéziersOne of the busts in the plateau des poètes' garden is of Matfre Ermengaud who died in 1322 and was a Franciscan friar and troubadour. The bust is in marble and rests on a stone pedestal. The inscription reads . Injalbert executed the plaster model in February/March 1902 and completed the marble version in July of that year. He offered the work as a gift to the town and the inauguration took place on the 18 August 1902 at the same time as the busts of Hugo, Rosier and Viennet were unveiled. Bust of Benjamin FabreBéziersAnother bust in the plateau des poètes' garden is that of the poet Benjamin Fabre. The inscription reads Injalbert executed this bust in 1921, based on a plaster model which he sculpted in 1876. This plaster model is held by the musée de Béziers . Inauguration took place on 7 October 1923. Fabre had been a childhood friend of Injalbert.Bust of Jean Bernard RosierBéziersAnother bust in the plateau des poètes' garden is that of the writer Jean Bernard Rosier. The pedestal is inscribed Bust of Jean-Pons-Guillaume ViennetBéziersAnother of those remembered is Jean-Pons-Guillaume Viennet. The inscription reads