Background
Marc Ferrez was born on 14 October 1788 in Saint-Laurent, in the arrondissement of Saint-Claude, Jura, France. Auguste Ferrez was born in 1795 and Zéphirin Ferrez in 1797.
Marc Ferrez was born on 14 October 1788 in Saint-Laurent, in the arrondissement of Saint-Claude, Jura, France. Auguste Ferrez was born in 1795 and Zéphirin Ferrez in 1797.
In 1809 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he studied under the sculptor Philippe-Laurent Roland (1746–1816) and the engraver Pierre-Nicolas Beauvallet (1750–1818). His brother Zepherin Ferrez (1797–1851) was also a sculptor and engraver, and also studied at the École des Beaux-Arts.
He was the eldest of three brothers born in that town. Their parents were a carpenter and a seamstress. The two brothers spent six months in New York City in 1816-1817.
In 1817 the Ferrez brothers moved to Rio de Janeiro where they joined the Missão Artística Francesa (French Artistic Mission) organized by Joachim Lebreton.
Lebreton had brought a group of artists to, arriving on 25 March 1816. They were to form the nucleus of a royal art academy in In 1820 Marc Ferrez was appointed a permanent lecturer at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts.
After Auguste–Marie Taunay died in 1824, Marc Ferrez became deputy professor of sculpture. When Joaquim Alão died in 1837 he became full professor
In 1842 Marc Ferrez made the sculptural decorations of the rooms of Dona Teresa Cristina on the frigate Constitution, which brought her to Marc Ferrez died in Rio de Janeiro on 1 April 1850, aged 61.
Francisco Manuel Chaves Pinheiro (1822–1884) was one of his best-known pupils.