Ernest Renan

Zorn’s stark portrait marked the death of an intellectual who had done much to secularize France. Renan (1823-1892) was born to a Breton woman, raised Catholic, and educated in seminaries with the intention of becoming a priest. The more he learned of his faith, however, the more doubtful of it he became. Renan was best known for his book The Life of Christ, a positivist biography of Jesus as an historical figure, which infuriated the Catholic Church. He was liberal in his politics and supported democratic forms of government. In 1882, he defined a nation as a group of people living together who “have done great things together and want to do more.”