JALEY, Jean-Louis-Nicolas - b. 1802 Paris, d. 1866 Neuilly

French sculptor. He was a pupil of his father, Louis Jaley (1763-1838), a medal engraver, and of Pierre Cartellier. In 1820 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, winning the Prix de Rome in 1827 with the relief Mucius Scaevola before Porsenna (École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris). His stay in Rome profoundly affected his style, which was influenced by the sculpture of antiquity and the paintings of Raphael.

After his return to Paris, c. 1834, he contributed sculpture to all the major state building projects of the July Monarchy (1830-48) and the Second Empire (1851-70), including statues of Jean-Sylvain Bailly and Victor Riqueti, Marquis de Mirabeau (both marble, 1833) for the Chambre des Députés, Paris, of St Ferdinand (stone, 1837-39) for the church of La Madeleine, Paris, and those representing London and Vienna (both stone, 1862) for the Gare du Nord, Paris (all in situ).

Jaley also achieved contemporary renown for the elegant, Raphaelesque female nudes that he exhibited regularly at the Salon, with titles such as Prayer (marble, exh. Salon 1831; Paris, Louvre) and Modesty (marble, exh. Salon 1834; Paris, Ministere des Finances).

Strength

This work was designed for the fa�ade of the Palais de Justice in Paris.

The fa�ade of the Palais de Justice in Place Dauphin, Paris, was remodeled between 1859 and 1868. It was decorated with six allegorical figures (Wisdom and Truth, Equity and Strength, and Punishment and Protection) by Augustine Dumont, Jean-Louis-Nicolas Jaley, and Fran�ois Jouffroy, respectively. It was the norm to practice maximum division of labour, but because the individual artist’s personality tended to take second place to the overall style, the result was not heterogeneous.