Antoine-Augustin Préault

Antoine-Augustin Préault (October 6, 1809 - January 11, 1879) was a French sculptor of the Romanticism movement. Born in the Marais district of Paris, he is often recorded as Auguste Préault.

A student of David d'Angers, Préault first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1833. 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 in the French Revolution of 1830. During that period of turmoil Préault's studio was vandalized and many of his plaster models were destroyed. As a result of these circumstances his work has been largely overshadowed by his contemporaries.

Antoine-Augustin Préault died in Paris in 1879 and was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Three of his most noted sculptures are:

• Christ on the Cross (1840) - Eglise Saint-Gervais, Paris.
• Ophelia (1843) - Musée d'Orsay, Paris
• La Tuerie (The Killing) (1854) - Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chartres

References

• Auguste Préault : sculpteur romantique, 1809-1879. Author: compilation. (1997) Gallimard ISBN 2070115232