FRENCH CULTURAL HERITAGE IN OUR

SOCIETY

By Henri de Vilmorin

ART

Nicolas Poussin-Born in 1594 and died in 1665-Official painter of Louis XIII-Baroque Artist-He influenced neoclassical painters like David and Ingres at the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th century-His style is a mixture of sexy, richly-coloured mythological scenes with strong lines and darker-coloured religious images.

-Landscape with Diogenes, 1647,

Henri Matisse-Born in 1869 and died in 1954-His style is considered as modern-Matisse painted landscape, portraits, domestic and studio interiors-Matisse continued to underline the emotional power of sinuous lines, by the use of powerful colours (acid ones)-He was influenced by Gauguin, Cézanne and Van Gogh. -He was an inspiration to painters like Pollack and Rothko

Stilleben, 1911

SCIENCE

Louis Pasteur

-Born in 1822 and died in 1895-one of the most important scientists of the 19th century-Pasteur is famous for: 1)Proving that microbes were the cause of diseases2)Pasteur pursued Edward Janner work 3)He is famously known for discovering vaccines against anthrax and specifically rabies and 4)He is viewed as one of the founders of bacteriology

Pierre and Marie Curie

-They discovered in 1898 Polonium (neutron trigger for nuclear science) and Radium (used in medicine to produce radon gas, which is used for the treatment of cancer)-She was born in 1867 and died in 1934-He was born in 1859 and died in 1906-They shared the Nobel prize in Physics in 1903 with Henri Becquerel-Marie Curie won in 1911 this same prize

ARCHITECTURE

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jenneret-Gris)

-Founding member of the Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne-He insisted on the use of landscape as an architectural tool-Le Corbusier's painting emphasized clear forms and structures, which corresponded to his architecture. -He influenced Oscar Nieymer (The architect who designed Brasilia)

Secretariat Building in Chandigarh, India

Villa Savoye

CINEMA

François Truffaut-Born in 1932 and died in 1984-One of the founders of the ‘‘French New Wave’’ which is characterized by new film methods: Sound is recorded during filming, and the use of Nagra (portable recording device)-Truffaut admired film makers like Robert Bresson and Alfred Hitchcock-His movie subjects were very diverse-In 1980 The Last Metro won 10 rewards at the Césars, but his first great movie was the 400 blows, produced in 1959.

Georges Mèliés-He discovered that cinema could manipulate time and space in the late 1890’s-Most creative and inventive filmmaker in the next decade-Internationally famous for his masterpiece Le voyage dans la lune (1902), it has been named as 1 of the 100 greatest movies of the 20th Century-Méliès was a precursor to the development of modern narrative cinema-Méliès is the first one who used special effects (La lune a un metre 1898)

PHILOSOPHY

Montesquieu-He is mostly known for his theory about the separation of powers-Montesquieu’s work influenced the American constitution: specifically the understanding of the government laws will reduce the problems of society and improve the daily life of the people-He is also famous for the following books: The spirit of laws and Persian Letters

Voltaire-Famous for adressing subjects that were difficult to write about during the 18th century like freedom of religion-He was a great defender of civil liberties (freedom of religion and free trade)-His works influenced both the American and French revolutions (social reforms, new laws)-His most important work is the Dictionnaire Philosphique

FASHION

Yves Saint-Laurent-During his career, Yves Saint Laurent produced a legacy of classic clothes -Launched in 1966 his Rive Gauche collection-Many creators are still influenced by his work nowadays-He managed to ouftit ladies in blazers and diner jackets-He was the first french couturier to create a complete ready to wear collection