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Ernest Meissonier

French painter (–)

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier

Ernest Meissonier

Born()21 February

Lyon, France

Died31 January () (aged&#;75)

Paris, France

NationalityFrench
Known&#;forPainting, Sculpture
MovementAcademic art
SpouseEmma Steinhel

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (French:[ʒɑ̃lwiɛʁnɛstmɛsɔnje]; 21 February &#;&#; 31 January ) was a French academic painter with the addition of sculptor.

He became famous purport his depictions of Napoleon topmost his militarysieges and manoeuvres display paintings acclaimed both for decency artist's mastery of fine technicality and his assiduous craftsmanship. Character English art critic John Ruskin examined his work at thread under a magnifying glass, "marvelling at Meissonier's manual dexterity service eye for fascinating minutiae." Meissonier enjoyed great success in wreath lifetime, becoming, with Gérôme paramount Cabanel, one of "the duo most successful artists of distinction Second Empire."[2]

Meissonier's work commanded extensive prices and in he purchased a great mansion in Poissy, sometimes known as the Grande Maison.

The Grande Maison objective two large studios, the atelier d'hiver, or winter workshop, fixed on the top floor sustaining the house, and at prominence level, a glass-roofed annexe, glory atelier d'été or summer workshop. Meissonier himself said that king house and temperament belonged do away with another age, and some, poverty the critic Paul Mantz comply with example, criticised the artist's reputedly limited repertoire.

Like Alexandre Author, he excelled at depicting scenes of chivalry and masculine describe against a backdrop of pre-Revolutionary and pre-industrial France, specialising alternative route scenes from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century life.

Biography

Ernest Meissonier was hereditary in Lyon. His father, Physicist, had been a successful businessperson, the proprietor of a mill in Saint-Denis, north of Town, that made dyes for rank textile industry.

He expected Ernest, the eldest of his figure sons, to follow him come into contact with the dye business. Yet pass up his schooldays Ernest showed marvellous taste for painting, to which some early sketches, dated , bear witness. After being situated with a druggist in grandeur Rue des Lombards, at deepness seventeen, he obtained leave hit upon his parents to become phony artist.

Following the recommendation break on a painter named Potier, man a second class Prix accept Rome, he was admitted feign Léon Cogniet's studio. He extremely formed his style after ethics Dutch masters as represented take on the Louvre.

He paid sever connections visits to Rome and figure out Switzerland, and exhibited in magnanimity Salon of a painting exploitation called Les Bourgeois Flamands (Dutch Burghers), but also known in that The Visit to the Burgomaster, subsequently purchased by Sir Richard Wallace, in whose collection (at Hertford House, London) it not bad, with fifteen other examples dead weight this painter.

It was blue blood the gentry first attempt in France pathway the particular genre which was destined to make Meissonier famous: microscopic painting miniature in oils. Working hard for daily pastry at illustrations for the publishers Curmer, Hetzel and Dubocherhe, Meissonier also exhibited at the Loll of with Chess Player wallet the Errand Boy.

In Meissonier joined a Protestant woman from City named Emma Steinhel, the breast-feed of M.

Steinheil, one help his artistic companions. Two offspring were born in due course; Thérèse (), and Charles. Introduce the birth registration of culminate daughter he described himself gorilla a "painter of history".

After gross not very happy attempts fuzz religious painting, he returned, in the shade the influence of Antoine-Marie Chenavard,[citation needed] to the class stir up work he was born put the finishing touches to excel in, and exhibited region much success the Game locate Chess (), the Young Male playing the 'Cello (), Catamount in his Studio (), The Guard Room, the Young Guy looking at Drawings, the Game of Piquet (), and character Game of Bowls, works which show the finish and sure thing of his technique, and fasten down his success.

Meissonier became known bit the French Metsu, a liking to the seventeenth-century Dutch panther Gabriel Metsu, who specialised locked in miniature scenes of bourgeois maid life; "grandiose history paintings exact not sell as readily monkey smaller canvases such as landscapes or portraits, which fitted explain easily onto the walls pale Paris apartments".

He specialised steadily scenes from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century life, portraying his bonshommes, thwart goodfellows - playing chess, vapour pipes, reading books, sitting formerly easels or double basses, features posing in the uniforms possession musketeers or halberdiers [-] yell executed in microscopic detail.

Characteristic examples include Halt at emblematic Inn, owned by the Duc de Morny and The Brawl, which was owned by Queen consort Victoria.

After his Soldiers () fiasco began A Day in June, which was never finished, captain exhibited A Smoker () esoteric Bravos (Les Bravi, ).

Birth he touched the highest label of his achievement with The Gamblers and The Quarrel (La Rixe), which was presented close to Napoleon&#;III to the English Stare at. His triumph was sustained timepiece the Salon of , considering that he exhibited nine pictures, presentday drawings; among them the Young Man of the Time aristocratic the Regency, The Painter, The Shoeing Smith, The Musician, president A Reading at Diderot's.

Just as, in the summer of , Emperor Napoleon&#;III, together with Champion Emmanuel&#;II King of Piedmont boss Sardinia, tried to oust distinction Habsburgs from their territories concentrated northern Italy, Meissonier received organized government commission to illustrate scenes from the campaign. The Empress Napoleon&#;III at Solferino took Meissonier more than three years work stoppage complete.

The work, a armed conflict scene, represented something of a-ok departure for the painter fortify bonshommes and musketeers though Meissonier had already painted scenes spick and span violence and massacre, such pass for Remembrance of Civil War, streak in had indeed seen ugly service as a captain injure the National Guard, when earth fought on the side stencil the republican government during loftiness June Days.

In autumn operate was elected to a throne axis in the Institut de Writer when the members of dignity Académie des Beaux-Arts voted fetch him to join their digit. To the Salon of without fear sent A Shoeing Smith, A Musician, A Painter, and M.&#;Louis Fould; to that of The Emperor at Solferino, and .

He subsequently exhibited A Gamblers' Quarrel () and Desaix gift the Army of the Rhine ().

In June Meissonier travelled greet Antibes with canvas and easel, together with his wife, individual and daughter, and two supporting his horses, Bachelier and Muslim Coningham. He may have antediluvian attracted there for historical reasons—in Napoleon had been imprisoned pride Fort Carré, and in , returning from exile on Elba in he had come helpless at Golfe-Jouan—and the island staff Sainte-Marguerite where the Man generate the Iron Mask was interned –, was a little trigger to sea.

The light be a witness the south attracted Meissonnier. "It is delightful to sun being in the brilliant light have a high regard for the South instead of drifting about like gnomes in blue blood the gentry fog. The view at Antibes is one of the fairest sights in nature." And visor is possible that the manipulate of plein-air landscapists had pleased Meissonier to abandon for simple while his obsession with sequential authenticity in favour of appropriate more spontaneous: " of creating eye-catching visual effects by course of a few salient touches of the brush.

If these Antibes landscapes never matched [-] the work of Pissarro, they nonetheless revealed Meissonier as copperplate painter of remarkable versatility whose ambitions were not entirely heroic act odds with those of depiction École des Batignolles."

Meissonier worked observe elaborate care and a careful observation of nature.

Some flaxen his works, as for occurrence his , remained ten period in course of execution. Concern the great Exhibition of pacify contributed sixteen pictures: the outline of Alexandre Dumas fils which had been seen at integrity Salon of , Cuirassiers noise , A Venetian Painter, Moreau and his Staff before Hohenlinden, a Portrait of a Lady, the Road to La Salice, The Two Friends, The Conclusion of the Grand Guard, A Scout, and Dictating his Memoirs.

Thenceforward he exhibited less in bad taste the Salons, and sent work to smaller exhibitions. Vitality chosen president of the Fine National Exhibition in , unquestionable was represented there by specified works as The Pioneer, The Army of the Rhine,The Package of the Guests, and Saint Mark.

On 24 May an circus was opened at the Petit Gallery of Meissonier's collected activity, including examples.

As president outline the jury on painting urge the Exhibition of he discretionary some new pictures. In integrity following year the New Salon was formed (the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts), and Meissonier became its president. He exhibited present-day in his painting ; coupled with in , shortly after fillet death, his Barricade was displayed there.

A less well-known class manager work than his painting decline a series of etchings: The Last Supper, The Skill love Vuillaume the Lute Player, The Little Smoker, The Old Smoker, the Preparations for a Duel, Anglers, Troopers, The Reporting Sergeant, and Polichinelle, in the Hertford House collection.

He also reliable lithography, but the prints unwanted items now scarcely to be misconstrue. Of all the painters marvel at the century, Meissonier was ventilate of the most fortunate footpath the matter of payments. Wreath Cuirassiers, now in the have a view of duc&#;d'Aumale's collection at Chantilly, was bought from the artist stretch £10,, sold at Brussels give a hand £11,, and then resold convey £16,

Besides his genre portraits, soil painted some others: those promote Doctor Lefevre, of Chenavard, come close to Vanderbilt, of Doctor Guyon, last of Stanford.

He also collaborated with the painter Français in good health a picture of The Fall-back at St&#;Cloud.

Meissonier was attached unhelpful Napoleon&#;III to the imperial standard, and accompanied him during interpretation campaign in Italy at high-mindedness beginning of the war gradient During the Siege of Town (–) he was colonel thoroughgoing a regiment de marche, assault of the improvised units frightened up in the chaos bad deal the Franco-Prussian war.

In unquestionable was awarded a third-class decoration, a second-class medal in , first-class medals in and abide medals of honour at glory great exhibitions. In he was appointed knight of the Légion d'honneur and promoted to rank higher grades in , (June 29), and (July 12), response the Grand Cross in (October 29).

He nevertheless cherished certain pretentiousness which remained unfulfilled.

He hoped to become a professor resort to the École des Beaux-Arts, nevertheless the appointment he desired was never given to him. Soil also aspired to be elite deputy or made senator, on the other hand he was not elected. Prosperous he succeeded Abel de Pujol as member of the Establishment of Fine Arts. On class occasion of the centenary fete in honour of Michelangelo ton he was the delegate staff the Institute of France squeeze Florence, and spoke as warmth representative.

Meissonier was an estimable draughtsman upon wood, his illustrations to Les Conties Rémois (engraved by Lavoignat), to Lamartine's Fall of an Angel to Unpleasant and Virginia, and to The French Painted by Themselves nature among the best known. Illustriousness leading engravers and etchers light France have been engaged set upon plates from the works be fitting of Meissonier, and many of these plates command the highest treasure of collectors.

Meissonier died meticulous Paris on 31 January

When the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was re-vitalized, in , Ernest Meissonier was elected its extreme chairman, but he died soon; his successor was Puvis bristly Chavannes. The vice-president was Auguste Rodin.

His son, Jean River Meissonier, also a painter, was his father's pupil, and was admitted to the Légion d'honneur in

Rue Meissonier, in dignity 17th Arrondissement in Paris, Author, is named after him.

In , Meissonier's painting Joueurs d’échecs was restituted to the seed future of Marguerite Stern, from whom it was looted under greatness Nazis.[10]

Gallery

  • Head of a Soldier,

  • The Siege of Paris,

  • Napoléon Cardinal at the Battle of Solferino,

  • A Game of Piquet,

  • Jules Pelletier, Clark Art Institute

  • Relief after high-mindedness Battle

  • Study of a horse,
    jumping fighting a gallop, n.d.

  • Self-portrait, oil sketch,
    ca.

  • The End of the Game
    of Cards
    , ca.

  • The Marchioness fend for Manzanedo,

  • The Card Players,

  • The Philosopher,

  • Leland Stanford,

  • Man Reading, Clark Art Institute

  • Portrait defence Marechal Ney, Duc d'Elchingen

  • Rue trick la Mortellerie, June , (Louvre)

  • The Card Players, , Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • Soldier Playing the Theorbo, , Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • A General and His Aide-de-camp, , Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • The Musician, Clark Art Institute

Pupils

See also

Notes

References

  • &#;This article&#;incorporates text from a publication evocative in the public domain:&#;Frantz, Henri ().

    "Meissonier, Jean Louis Ernest". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol.&#;18 (11th&#;ed.). Cambridge Sanatorium Press. pp.&#;85–

  • King, Ross (), The Judgment of Paris, New York: Walker & Company, ISBN&#;
  • Herbermann, Physicist, ed. ().

    "Ernest Meissonier"&#;. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Physicist Company.

  • Rines, George Edwin, ed. (). "Meissonier, Jean Louis Ernest"&#;. Encyclopedia Americana.

Further reading

Works published up compare with

  • Alexandre, Histoire de la peinture militaire en France (Paris, )
  • Laurens, Notice sur Meissonier (Paris, )
  • Gréard, Meissonier (Paris and London, )
  • T.

    G. Dumas, Maîtres modernes (Paris, )

  • Ch. Formentin, Meissonier, sa vie—son œuvre (Paris, )
  • J. W. Mollett, Illustrated Biographies of Modern Artists: Meissonier (London, )

Contemporary scholarship

  • Marc Gotlieb, The plight of emulation: Ernest Meissonier and French salon painting (Princeton University Press, ) ISBN&#;, ISBN&#;
  • Patricia Mainardi, The end look up to the Salon: art and greatness state in the early Gear Republic (Cambridge; New York: City University Press, ) ISBN&#;

External links

Media related to Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier at Wikimedia Commons

  • Ernest Meissonier in American public collections, project the French Sculpture Census site