Jean Louis Ernest MEISSONIER
 (Lyon, 1815 – Paris, 1891)

 Study for Marshal BESSIERES
 Oil on panel
 Monogrammed lower right
 24 x 15 cm

 MEISSONIER showed a very keen taste for the arts at a very young age and entered Léon COGNIET's studio at an early age. He began in 1834 with a genre painting: The Visit to the Mayor, which was acquired by the Society of Friends of the Arts. This small success convinced the artist's father to send him to Rome. Back in Paris, he did some illustration work for a while while giving paintings to the annual Salons, which allowed him to gain recognition from his peers with a third medal in 1840, a second in 1841 and a first in 1843 and 1848. His Brawl, which appeared at the 1855 Salon, definitively established his reputation. This painting, which earned him the Grand Medal of Honor, was bought by Napoleon III who offered it to the English sovereigns as a souvenir of their visit to France. In 1859, MEISSONIER followed the Italian campaign in the General Staff. He tried his hand at historical painting, which gave him the idea of painting the epic of the first of the Napoleons, and from then on he began, without neglecting genre painting, to paint his large historical canvases.

 Decorated with the Legion of Honor since 1846, MEISSONIER was named a member of the Institute in 1861. In 1889, he was elected by acclamation President of the International Jury of Fine Arts.

 Few artists have enjoyed such a worldwide reputation during their lifetime. We must recognize his prestigious profession, superior skill and attention to detail that is rarely equaled.

 Museums : Amsterdam, Bayonne, Chantilly, Grenoble, Hamburg, Paris (Louvre, Luxembourg), London (Wallace Coll.), Lyon, Moscow, Rouen, New York (MET), Washington (NGA)…