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Historical Artist - Francois-Xavier Fabre (1766 - 1837)
Francois-Xavier Fabre studied at the Montpellier’s art academy before joining the Paris
studio of Jacques-Louis David. He won the Prix de Rome in 1787 and remained in Italy because of
the French Revolution. Fabre settled in Florence in 1793 and received the patronage of Italian
aristocrats. He was a member of the Florentine Academy and an art teacher, collector, and
dealer. When the trends began to change, Fabre dropped history painting and focused on the more
popular portraiture, landscape, and printmaking. In 1824, Fabre’s companion, the countess
of Albany, died and left him her fortune. He returned to France and founded an art school in his
hometown of Montpellier. During the French Revolution, he went to live in Florence, becoming a
member of the Florentine Academy and a teacher of art. The friends he made in Italy included the
dramatist, Vittorio Alfieri, whose widow, Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern, Countess of
Albany, he is said to have married. On Louise's death in 1824, he inherited her fortune, which
he used to found an art school in his home town. On his own death, he bequeathed his own art
collection to the town, forming the basis of the Musée Fabre.
Contemporary French Artists
Art Galleries in France
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