Pierre-Jules Jollivet (27 June 1803, in Paris – 7 September 1871, in Paris) was a French painter and lithographer who worked mostly in the Romantic style and is largely known for genre scenes.
At the same time, he became interested in lithography, a new printing method devised in the 1790s by the actor, Alois Senefelder. In 1826, this interest took him to Spain to work on a catalog of the paintings belonging to King Ferdinand VII at the Royal Palace of Madrid. He eventually contributed eighteen plates for that publication. he remained there for a short time after completing his work before returning to Paris.
He established himself as a painter of genre and historical scenes and drew on his experiences in Spain for inspiration. After acquiring a small amount of notoriety, he began to exhibit his works; beginning in 1831. His initial presentation consisted entirely of Spanish-themed works; some in homage to Diego Velázquez. In 1833, he was awarded a prize at the Salon for his "Brigands of the Kingdom of Valencia".
He some religious works as well, such as a "Massacre of the Innocents", and participated in the decoration of several Parisian churches; including Saint-Ambroise, Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. For the latter, he used an innovative ceramic painting technique; applied to large slabs of lava from Volvic. In 1844, he returned to Saint-Vincent-de-Paul to create a tableau representing the Trinity. Other paintings were added later. One, depicting Adam and Eve in Paradise, contained nudity and created a scandal. It was removed in 1861, placed out of sight, and not restored to its original position until 2011.
Georges Brunel, Laves émaillées : un décor oublié du XIXe siècle, Musée de la vie romantique, Paris, 15 October 1998 – 17 January 1999 (exhibition catalog)
