François Jouffroy

Jouffroy in 1865. Photo by Adam-Salomon

François Jouffroy (1 February 1806 – 25 June 1882) was a French sculptor.

Jouffroy was born in Dijon, the son of a baker, and attended the local drawing school before being admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1824. In 1832 he won the Prix de Rome. Jouffroy often had to contend with Pierre-Jean David d'Angers for public commissions, but during the Second Empire (1851–1870) still participated in the decoration of several public buildings.

Among his students was Jean Dampt. Jouffroy died at Laval, Mayenne, in 1882.

Works

His best-known work is probably the sculpture “Girl Confiding her Secret to Venus” (1839), which can presently be seen at the Louvre. Among his other works are:

• the stone pediment for the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, 56 Boulevard des Invalides, Paris (1840)
• the sculptures Varsovie and Bruxelles at the Chapelle-Montmartre-Parmentier (c. 1864–1865)
• Marine Commerce and Naval Power for the Guichets du Carrousel at the Louvre (c. 1867–1868)
• Harmony (1865–1869) on the façade of the new Paris Opera
• L'Aurore, sculpture at the Montparnasse-Raspail (c. 1870–1875), one of a set of "Times of the Day" by various sculptors

Students

As a teacher at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Jouffroy had great influence on several famous artists, among these:

• Alexandre Falguière
• Marius-Jean-Antonin Mercié
• Louis-Ernest Barrias
• Augustus Saint-Gaudens
• René de Saint-Marceaux
• António Soares dos Reis
• Olin Levi Warner
• Per Hasselberg