Jean Marie Napoléon Désiré Nisard (20 March 1806 – 27 March 1888)[1] was a French writer and literary critic. He was born at Châtillon-sur-Seine.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/D%C3%A9sir%C3%A9_Nisard.jpg)
Career
editIn 1826 he joined the staff of the Journal des Débats, but subsequently transferred his pen to the National. Under the empire he was inspector-general of education (1852) and director of the École normal (1857–1867).[2]
Nisard's literary reputation was established by his Histoire de la littérature française (1844–1861). This work helped to secure his election to the Académie Française in 1850 as seat 39.[3] His other works include Études d'histoire et de littérature (1859–1864), and Les Quatres grands historiens latins (1875).[2]
In all his books Nisard vigorously supported the claims of classicism against romanticism.[2][4][5] He is the object of the loathing of the narrator in the postmodern book Démolir Nisard, by the French writer Eric Chevillard.[6]
Death
editMemorials
editThe school Lycée polyvalent Désiré Nisard in Châtillon-sur-Seine was named after Nisard.
References
edit- ^ "Désiré Nisard (1806-1888)". BNF.fr.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911.
- ^ "Désiré NISARD N°394" (in French). academie-francaise.fr. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ Debré, Patrice (27 November 2000). Louis Pasteur. Translated by Elborg Forster. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 115. ISBN 0801865298.
Nisard had been a fierce adversary of the Romantic movement
- ^ Nisard (1834). "Etudes de Moeurs et de Critique sue les Poetes Latins de la Decadence" (in French).
- ^ "Démolir Nisard" (in French). Les Éditions de Minuit. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nisard, Jean Marie Napoleon Désiré". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 709. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the