Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) school of Paris. The center of international art until after World War II, Paris was a mecca for artists who flocked there to participate in the most advanced aesthetic currents of their time. The sch...

(Encyclopedia) Tarbes tärb [key], city (1990 pop. 50,228), capital of Hautes-Pyrénées dept., SW France, on the Adour River. It is an industrial, commercial, and tourist center in a cattle- and horse-raising area....

(Encyclopedia) Androuet du Cerceau äNdro͞o-āˈ dü sĕrsōˈ [key], family of French architects active in the 16th and 17th cent. It was founded by Jacques Androuet, c.1520–c.1584, surnamed du Cerceau [Fr.,=cir...

(Encyclopedia) Dumas, Alexandre pĕr [key], 1802–70, French novelist and dramatist. His father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, was a general in the Revolution. Dumas delighted many generations of readers with his highly ...

(Encyclopedia) Villon, François fräNswäˈ vēyôNˈ [key], 1431–1463?, French poet, b. Paris, whose original name was François de Montcorbier or François Des Loges. One of the earliest great poets of France, ...

(Encyclopedia) Mielziner, Jo mēlzēˈnər [key], 1901–76, American theatrical scene designer, b. Paris. Mielziner made his Broadway design debut in 1924 with The Guardsman. He designed sets, and usually the light...

(Encyclopedia) Pagnol, Marcel märsĕlˈ pänyôlˈ [key], 1895–1974, French dramatist and film director. Pagnol gained recognition for his trilogy of sentimental comedies set on the Marseilles waterfront—Marius...

(Encyclopedia) Piaf, Edith pēäfˈ [key], 1915–63, French cabaret singer, born as Edith Giovanna Gassion. She began to sing at 15 in cafés and on the streets of Paris and was soon engaged to sing in a cabaret. F...

(Encyclopedia) Montalembert, Charles Forbes, comte de shärl fôrbz kôNt də môNtäläNbĕrˈ [key], 1810–70, French political leader and writer, b. London. He went to Paris (1830), where he became associated wi...

(Encyclopedia) Depardieu, Gérard jĕˌrärdˈ dəpärˌdyöˈ [key], 1948–, French actor, b. Châteauroux. He is a versatile, highly successful actor, who has performed on stage and screen in France and also has ...