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Renart, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Renart, Jean zhäN rənärˈ [key], fl. 1212, French poet. He is believed to be the author of two charming romans courtois, or metrical romances—Guillaume de Dole and L'Escoufle [the hawk] as well a...

Clouet, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Clouet, Jean both: zhänĕˈ [key], c.1485–1540, portrait and miniature painter. He was court painter and valet de chambre to the French king Francis I. He is thought to have been Flemish and may ha...

Morin, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Morin, Paul pôl môrăNˈ [key], 1889–1963, French Canadian poet, b. Montreal. After taking degrees in the arts, science, and law at Laval Univ., he studied in Paris. His two books of poems, Le Pao...

Scarron, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Scarron, Paul pōl skärôNˈ [key], 1610–60, French writer. His picaresque novel Le Romant comique (1651) vividly portrays the lives of a company of strolling players. He also wrote short stories, ...

Casimir-Perier, Jean Paul Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Casimir-Perier, Jean Paul Pierre zhäN pōl pyĕr käzēmērˈ-pĕryāˈ [key], 1847–1907, French president (June, 1894–Jan., 1895). He held several cabinet posts before serving as premier in 1893...

Restif de la Bretonne, Nicolas Edme

(Encyclopedia)Restif de la Bretonne, Nicolas Edme nëkôläˈ ĕdˈmə rĕstēfˈ də lä brətônˈ [key], 1734–1806, French novelist. A printer by trade, he wrote and published over 250 novels, mostly based on ...

Vigo, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Vigo, Jean zhäN vēgōˈ [key], 1905–34, French movie director, whose original name was Jean Almereyda. His reputation is based on two superb films: Zéro de Conduite (1933) and L'Atalante (1934, u...

Sérusier, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Sérusier, Paul pōl sāro͞osyāˈ [key], 1863–1927, French painter. In 1888 at Pont-Aven, Sérusier met Gauguin whose style he adhered to, particularly in his paintings of Breton landscapes. With ...

Éluard, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Éluard, Paul pōl ālüärˈ [key], 1895–1952, French poet. He was a leading exponent of surrealism. Among his volumes of verse are Mourir de ne pas mourir [to die of not dying] (1924) and L'Immacu...

Valéry, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Valéry, Paul pōl välārēˈ [key], 1871–1945, French poet and critic. A follower of the symbolists, Valéry was one of the greatest French poets of the 20th cent. He was encouraged by Pierry Loü...