(b Béziers, 23 Feb 1845; d Béziers, Jan 1933). French sculptor. After serving an apprenticeship with an ornamental sculptor, Injalbert entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1866 with a municipal scholarship. His teacher was Augustin-Alexandre Dumont. In 1874 he won the Prix de Rome with a figure of Orpheus (1874; Paris, Ecole N. Sup. B.-A.). He exhibited with the Société des Artistes Français only at the beginning and end of his career, otherwise remaining faithful to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Although he produced many portrait busts and playful allegorical statuettes, Injalbert concentrated on public sculpture. His decorative work, heavy and majestic, adorns many of the most prestigious buildings in Paris, including the Hôtel de Ville (1880) and the Palais de Justice (1913). His statue of the City of Nantes for the Gare d'Orsay (1900) is an example of his collaboration with the architect Victor Laloux. The monument to Octave Mirbeau in the Panthéon is important, if atypical, since Injalbert produced far more decorative works than commemorative monuments. Most of his sculptures are in the département of Hérault; notable examples include the two stone groups known as Love Taming Strength at the main entrance of the Promenade du Peyrou in Montpellier and a fountain with the bronze figure of Atlas Carrying the World in Béziers, both in a decorative style reminiscent of 18th-century sculpture.
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