Charles Othon Clarac

Charles Othon Clarac

Date of Birth: 16.06.1777
Country: France

Content:
  1. Charles-Louis-François de Clarac, French Archaeologist
  2. Exploration and Discovery
  3. Curator and Scholar
  4. Posthumous Publications

Charles-Louis-François de Clarac, French Archaeologist

Early Life and Revolution

Charles-Louis-François de Clarac was born in Narbonne, France. During the French Revolution, he emigrated and entered Russian military service. However, with the establishment of the Consulate, he returned to France.

Exploration and Discovery

In 1808, Clarac was appointed tutor to Murat's children in Naples. This opportunity allowed him to undertake excavations in Pompeii, resulting in his publication "Fouilles faites à Pompei" (1813).

Curator and Scholar

In 1818, Clarac was appointed curator of the Louvre's antiquities department. He also embarked on a mission to Brazil as part of a French embassy, where he documented the region's botanical diversity, which earned the acclaim of Alexander von Humboldt.

Clarac published catalogs of the Louvre's antiquities and authored several works on art history and archaeology. Notably, he compiled the extensive "Musée de sculpture antique et moderne" (started in 1826), describing significant marble and bronze sculptures housed in major European museums. The final volumes of this work were posthumously edited by Alfred Maury.

Posthumous Publications

After Clarac's death, Victor Texier published the three-volume "Manuel de l'histoire de l'art chez les anciens" (1847-1849), an accompanying guide to Clarac's work on the history of ancient art.

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