Baron François Joseph Bosio (19 March 1769 - 29 July 1845) was a French sculptor who achieved distinction in the first quarter of the 19th century with his work for the French monarchy.
Biography
Born in Monaco, Bosio was a student of the eminent sculptor Augustin Pajou and first worked in Italy, on churches, in the 1790s. He was recruited by Dominique Vivant in 1808 to make bas-reliefs for the column of the Place Vendôme in Paris and also to serve as portraitist to Emperor Napoleon I and his family. It was in this capacity that he produced some of his finest work, notably a portrait bust of the Empress Josephine.
Louis XVIII made Bosio a Knight of the Order of Saint Michael in 1821 and appointed him court sculptor. In 1828, Bosio produced the grandiose equestrian sculpture of Louis XIV in the Place des Victoires and was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur, France's highest civilian honour. He was made a baron by Charles X in 1825. He died in Paris in July 1845.
Apart from the imperial busts and the statue of Louis XVI, other important works included the quadriga of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the statue of Hercules Struggling with a Serpent in the garden of the Tuileries. Many of his most important sculptures and statues can today be found in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Summary of key works
In Paris
Elsewhere
External links
