Leon Cogniet (1794 - 1880). L�on Cogniet was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with over one hundred well-known students. He was born in Paris. His father was a painter and wallpaper designer. In 1812, he enrolled at the �cole des Beaux-arts, where he studied with Pierre-Narcisse Gu�rin. He also worked in the studios of Jean-Victor Bertin. After failing an attempt to win the Prix de Rome in 1816, he won the following year with his depiction of Helen Rescued by Castor and Pollux and received a stipend to study at the French Academy in Rome until 1822. Before leaving, he had his first exhibition at the Salon. In 1827, he created a series of murals on the life of Saint Stephen for the church of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs. From 1833 to 1835, he painted a scene from Napoleon's expedition to Egypt on one of the ceilings at the Louvre. Between 1840 and 1860, he operated a popular painting workshop for women, directed by his sister Marie Am�lie and one of his students, Catherine Caroline Th�venin, who later became his wife. After 1843, he concentrated almost entirely on teaching, with an occasional portrait. After 1855, he essentially gave up painting. After 1831, he taught design at the Lyc�e Louis-le-Grand. He also taught at the �cole polytechnique from 1847 to 1861. In 1851, he was appointed a Professor at the �cole des Beaux-arts, a position he held until 1863, when he retired, slowly giving up his private students and becoming more reclusive. He died forgotten in the 10th arrondissement of Paris in 1880 and is interred at P�re-Lachaise. His sister was the painter Marie Am�lie Cogniet.
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