A pupil of Jacques-Louis David and Prix de Rome in 1797, he exhibited at the Salon without interruption until 1831. Two bas-reliefs by François Lanno adorn his monument and reproduce his best-known painting, Ruth and Boaz; the inscription reduces the two painters of the couple to their initials.
The story
Louis Hersent has on his tomb two bas-reliefs by François Lanno that take up his best-known painting, Ruth and Boaz, a harvest scene from the Bible. Few graves in Père-Lachaise quote in this way the work of the painter they hold.
Born in Paris on 10 May 1777, Louis Hersent was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, the master of French neoclassicism, and won in 1797 the second Prix de Rome — never the first. He exhibited The Metamorphosis of Narcissus at the Salon of 1802, then without a break until 1831, and trained Augustin Désiré Pajou, Jacques Raymond Brascassat and Henri de Triqueti.
He died in Paris on 2 October 1860 and lies in Division 32 with his wife, the painter Louise Hersent née Mauduit, daughter of the mathematician Antoine-René Mauduit, who followed him in 1862. On the stone the two painters are reduced to their initials: “L. HERSENT. L. MAUDUIT.” The painting, for its part, takes up all the rest of the monument.
The grave
An exceptional monument: two bas-reliefs sculpted by François Lanno (1800-1871), which reproduce his best-known work, Ruth and Boaz. Few graves at Père-Lachaise quote in this way the painting of the painter they shelter. The inscription, on the other hand, is of extreme brevity: “L. HERSENT. L. MAUDUIT.” — he and his wife, the painter Louise Mauduit, reduced to their initials.
On site, do not miss
Two bas-reliefs by François Lanno reproducing his painting Ruth and Boaz. The inscription runs to two abbreviated names: “L. HERSENT. L. MAUDUIT.”
Visitors' questions
Where is Louis Hersent's grave?
In Division 32, chemin Bernard, third row. The monument is a remarkable one: two bas-reliefs by François Lanno take up his Ruth and Boaz. The inscription, for its part, runs to two abbreviated names. He died in Paris on 2 October 1860.
Antoine-Jean GrosWho trained him?
Jacques-Louis David, the master of French neoclassicism. Hersent won the Prix de Rome in 1797 and showed at the Salon from 1802 with The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, then without a break until 1831.
Jacques-Louis DavidWas his wife a painter?
She was: Louise Mauduit, née Hersent (1785-1862) was a painter like him, and lies in the same grave. The stone names them side by side, reduced to their initials: “L. HERSENT. L. MAUDUIT.”
Rosa BonheurWhom did he train?
Augustin Désiré Pajou, Jacques Raymond Brascassat and Henri de Triqueti — this last buried at Père-Lachaise too. Hersent taught in the tradition of David, whose pupil he had been.
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