1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Forster, François

FORSTER, FRANÇOIS (1790–1872), French engraver, was born at Locle in Neufchâtel, on the 22nd of August 1790. In 1805 he was apprenticed to an engraver in Paris, and he also studied painting and engraving simultaneously in the École des Beaux-Arts. His preference was ultimately fixed on the latter art, and on his obtaining in 1814 the first “grand prix de gravure,” the king of Prussia, who was then with the allies in Paris, bestowed on him a gold medal, and a pension of 1500 francs for two years. With the aid of this sum he pursued his studies in Rome, where his attention was devoted chiefly to the works of Raphael. In 1844 he succeeded Tardieu in the Academy. He died at Paris on the 27th of June 1872. Forster occupied the first position among the French engravers of his time, and was equally successful in historical pieces and in portraits. Among his works may be mentioned—The Three Graces, and La Vierge de la légende, after Raphael; La Vierge au bas-relief, after Leonardo da Vinci; Francis I. and Charles V., after Gros; St Cecilia, after Paul Delaroche; Albert Dürer and Henry IV., after Porbus; Wellington, after Gérard; and Queen Victoria, after Winterhalter.