(b Douai, 23 June 1797; d Douai, 2 May 1863). French sculptor. He was the son of the sculptor Eustache-Marie-Joseph Bra (1772-1840) and studied in Paris under Pierre-Charles Bridan and Jean-Baptiste Stouf. He competed unsuccessfully for the Prix de Rome in 1816 and 1817, winning second prize in 1818 with his relief Ch?lonis Pleading for her Husband Cl?ombotte (Douai, Mus. Mun.). However, he enjoyed early success at the Salon; after the plaster of his Aristodemus at his Daughter's Tomb had been shown in 1819, a marble version (Douai, Mus. Mun.) was commissioned by the State: it was exhibited at the 1822 Salon. Similarly, Bra showed a plaster of his Ulysses on Calypso's Isle at the Salon of 1822, which resulted in a commission for a marble version of the same subject (1831 Salon; Compi?gne, Ch?teau). In this colossal figure, Bra eschews outward drama in favour of a calm, meditative attitude. The commissions that he received from the State under the Bourbon Restoration and during the July Monarchy included statues of a Guardian Angel (1833-5) and of St Amelia (1835-8) for La Madeleine, Paris; spandrel reliefs of a Grenadier and a Chasseur (1833-5) for the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris; and work for the Colonne de la Grande Arm?e at Boulogne. Bra was associated with Saint Simonian, Christian Socialist and Somnambulist groups, and prophesied an exalted role for the arist in a perfected society. Copious literary jottings, accompanied by eccentric, visonary pen and ink drawings, are preserved at the Biblioth?que Municipale, Douai. After 1847 he worked in Lille, notably on the pediment of the H?tel de Ville (1849-50), but his final years were spent in Douai.
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