Jacques Marie Gaston Onfroy de Bréville was born in 1858 in Bar-le-Duc in northern France. Growing up in the small town in the Lorraine region had a lasting influence on the artist. As did his strict father, who stood in the way of his artistic career at the beginning. The young Jacques Onfroy de Bréville, later mostly just called "Job", discovered his love for art already in his childhood. His talent, however, remained unrecognized for a long time, as his family wanted a traditional career for their son.
Instead of studying art at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a prestigious art school in Paris, he joined the French army at his father's insistence. In 1882, he finally returned to France to devote himself to art in Paris and finally took up studies at the École des Beaux-Arts. By this time he was already 24 years old and thus older than many of his fellow students. But even in Paris, the past did not let go of him. His time in the army left a lasting impression on the artist and also influenced his later work. Patriotic symbols, the love for France and military illustrations are shown in many of his works and this was not to change until his death. In spite of all military rigour, Onfroy de Bréville celebrated his greatest successes with the illustration of children's books. Mostly to the texts of the French author Georges Montorgueil, in which he found a connected soul. His colourful illustrations often showed "heroes of the nation", such as the probably most popular Frenchman of all times, the former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
The art of Jacques Onfroy de Bréville, despite his work for a young audience, was never childish. Both his choice of motifs and the way he executed them bear witness to a clear spirit that always views life and people with realism. The suffering of people through wars and insecurity is also found unadorned in Job's works and is reflected by the artist in his work. Still during his lifetime he received the "Légion d'honneur" order. The highest military order of merit in France. Onfroy de Bréville died in Paris in 1931. A true-to-life reproduction of his former studio, in which he created his works throughout his life, is now in the museum of the French city of Metz and is open to visitors.
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.jpg "The young Napoleon Bonaparte studying by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Persia - National song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon III and France during the Coup d")
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 Playing with the King of Rome (1811-32) - (MeisterDrucke-289890).jpg "Napoleon Playing with the King of Rome, illustration from")
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_at_the_Siege_of_Toulon_17th_December_1793_illustration_from_-_(MeisterDrucke-210207).jpg "Napoleon at the Siege of Toulon, 17th December 1793, illustration from")
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.jpg "The Square Fort in Antibes by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The Young Napoleon Bonaparte Leaves Corsica by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Gulliver describes the system of government in England to the King of Brobdingnag, c.1900 by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte on His Arrival in the Occupied City of Nice by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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_putting_his_trousers_on_the_wrong_way_round_illustrati_-_(MeisterDrucke-174042).jpg "King Dagobert I putting his trousers on the wrong way round, illustration from")
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.jpg "Henri IV, King of the Poor who wants all his subjects to have a chicken for Sunday dinner by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Italy - The Royal March by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Gulliver at Lilliput, illustration from a French edition of")
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.jpg "The Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Pledging Allegiance to Him by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Revolutionary Unrest on the Streets of France by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Transvaal - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Passage of Saint Bernard by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte leading the attack at the Siege of Toulon by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The Evening of the Battle of Lodi by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "United States - Hail Colombia by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Gulliver Inspecting the Lilliputian Army, illustration from a French edition of")
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.jpg "Gifts presented to Napoleon Bonaparte at his coronation in Paris by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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 and his Troops in the Desert during the - (MeisterDrucke-282906).jpg "Napoleon and his Troops in the Desert during the Egyptian Campaign, illustration from")
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.jpg "A street scene in Paris by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte on the Deck of a Ship by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "French emigrants are welcomed back to France at the Tuileries Palace in Paris by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte and His Troops in the Desert by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte as General-in-Chief of the Armed Forces by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Holland - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The Execution of Louis Antoine by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Sweden - National song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Germany - Hail to Thee in Victor")
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.jpg "Cats Thrown into the Bonfire in the Place de Greve, Paris, During the Night of the Summer Solstice, Illustration from")
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.jpg "Construction Workers Look Down from the Scaffolding on the Place des Pyramides by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Spain - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Austria - National Anthem by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "A Gaulish family cooking a bear, illustration from")
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.jpg "Greece - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The Arrival of the Vikings in France by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The Saint-Cloud Orangery by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "The 12 pavilions of Les Halles by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte Surveying His Fleet as They Depart from Boulogne by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte at Marengo by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Josephine welcoming guests to the Tuileries Palace by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Turkey - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Great Britain - Rule Britannia by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte saying farewell to his wife by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Switzerland - National song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine at a Garden Party in the Grounds of the Chateau de Malmaison by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte Consulting Maps in His Study by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Russia - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Their Letter Paper by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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_and_his_wife_Josephine_(1763-1814)_Preparing_the_Coronation_-_(MeisterDrucke-185420).jpg "Napoleon and his wife Josephine Preparing the Coronation, illustration from")
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.jpg "Denmark - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "An Eagle Soaring into the Sky by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Cover of Mon Journal by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "First Review of the Consular Guard on the Parade Ground at the Tuileries Palace by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte as a child by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte in Auxonne by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Assassination of Henri IV by Francois Ravaillac in the rue de la Ferronerie on 14th May 1610, c.1900 by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Belgium - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Hunting by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon and his sister Elisa by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "France - La Marseillaise by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte Sitting in a Busy Restaurant by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "China - National Song by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte Among the Ruins of the Tuileries Palace by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon Bonaparte Amidst Revolutionary Unrest by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Bust of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "General Louis Desaix Being Taken by Carriage During the Battle of Marengo by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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.jpg "Napoleon and Josephine preparing for their coronation by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfray de Breville (Job)")
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