Charles Blanc 1813-1882 History Charles Blanc was born in 1813 in Castre, France. He was very involved in art early on, starting off as an engraver and writing art critiques and articles for several publications. He then went on to become the director of two publications and president of the Commission of Historic Monuments.

Blanc was politically active, seeking increased government support for the arts. In 1848, he was appointed the director of the Beaux Arts of France where he remained until 1852. While there, he became the director of the newly created Gazette of the Beaux Arts.

He was also a professor and taught art history both at the École Spéciale d’Architecture and the College of France. Teaching and spreading art history knowledge to the general public, rather than having this knowledge be, as it had been until that time, mostly reserved for the elite, were very important to him.

In 1869, he had the honor of being admitted to the Academy of the Beaux Arts. Up until that point, most were awarded this high honor due to their prestigious name or political clout. Blanc was the first to be awarded this position on his talent alone. His books helped earn him this distinctive position. Furthermore, he was the first writer, due to his art history and color theory writings, to earn the position previously awarded only to painters, sculpters and architects.

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Source: Charles Blanc – Color Theorist