Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was a French painter best known for his mural painting, who came to be known as 'the painter for France'.
He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and his work influenced many other artists, notably Robert Genin. Puvis de Chavannes was a prominent painter in the early Third Republic.
Émile Zola described his work as an art made of reason, passion, and will. Puvis de Chavannes was born Pierre-Cécile Puvis in a suburb of Lyon, France.
He was the son of a mining engineer. Being descended from an old noble family of Burgundy, he later added the ancestral 'de Chavannes' to his name.
Throughout his life, however, he spurned his Lyon origins, preferring to identify himself with the 'strong' blood of the Burgundians, where his father originated. Puvis de Chavannes was educated at the Amiens College and at the Lycée Henri IV in Paris. He intended to follow his father's profession until a serious illness compelled him to convalesce at Mâcon with his brother and sister-in-law in 1844 and 1845, interrupting his studies. A journey to Italy opened his mind to fresh ideas, and on his return to Paris in 1846 he announced his intention to become a painter. He studied first under Eugène Delacroix, but only very briefly, as Delacroix closed his studio shortly afterwards due to ill health. He studied subsequently under Henri Scheffer
He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and his work influenced many other artists, notably Robert Genin. Puvis de Chavannes was a prominent painter in the early Third Republic.
Émile Zola described his work as an art made of reason, passion, and will. Puvis de Chavannes was born Pierre-Cécile Puvis in a suburb of Lyon, France.
He was the son of a mining engineer. Being descended from an old noble family of Burgundy, he later added the ancestral 'de Chavannes' to his name.
Throughout his life, however, he spurned his Lyon origins, preferring to identify himself with the 'strong' blood of the Burgundians, where his father originated. Puvis de Chavannes was educated at the Amiens College and at the Lycée Henri IV in Paris. He intended to follow his father's profession until a serious illness compelled him to convalesce at Mâcon with his brother and sister-in-law in 1844 and 1845, interrupting his studies. A journey to Italy opened his mind to fresh ideas, and on his return to Paris in 1846 he announced his intention to become a painter. He studied first under Eugène Delacroix, but only very briefly, as Delacroix closed his studio shortly afterwards due to ill health. He studied subsequently under Henri Scheffer
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