Émile Jean-Baptiste Philippe Bin (10 February 1825 – 4 September 1897) was a French portraitist, mythology painter, watercolorist and politician.

Biography

He was born in Paris. His father, the painter Jean-Baptiste François Bin (c.1791-1849), often known as "Bin père," gave him his first art instruction. From the ages of twelve to fifteen, he studied with his uncle, Nicolas Gosse.Félix Jahyer, "Émile Bin", ''Galerie contemporaine'', #184, Paris, L. Baschet, (1879) He then worked briefly with Léon Cogniet and entered the École des Beaux-arts in 1842. Three years later, he had his first exhibit at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

. As a staunch Republican, he fought on the barricades in 1848 and 1851. Later, he would refuse to paint a portrait of Napoleon III for the Town Hall of Montmartre, despite needing the money to support his family.

Decorative painting

He initially worked as a decorative painter, specializing in hotels throughout Paris and

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

(including the great hall of the Hôtel du Louvre, which he did together with his uncle), but also worked at the National Museum of Natural History, the École Supérieure de Pharmacie, the Crédit Mobilier, the Church of Saint-Sulpice and some private residences such as the Louis XV Salon of André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri. At the International Exposition (1867), he collaborated on decorating the Egyptian Pavilion, designed by Jacques Drevet, for which he was awarded the Order of the Medjidie. In 1871, he received three commissions from Russia. He was a fervent admirer of the works of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

and Raphael, and visited Rome in 1866, accompanied by his star pupil and sometime collaborator,

Joseph Blanc Paul-Joseph Blanc (25 January 1846, Paris - 5 July 1904, Paris) was a French painter who specialized in scenes from ancient history and mythology. Biography He studied at the École des Beaux Arts with Émile Bin and Alexandre Cabanel. In 1867, ...

,Paul Milliet, ''Une Famille de républicains fouriéristes, les Milliet'', t. I, Paris, Giard et Brière, 1915, p. 270. reinforcing his interest in historical and anecdotal scenes and his predilection for mythological nudes. During the Siege of Paris in 1870, he was appointed to the Council of Armaments and Supplies, but refused to take part in the Commune and retired to

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

. He remained anticlerical and close to the extreme radical left. He was named a Knight of the Légion d'honneur in 1878. Two years later, he was one of the founders of the Société des Artistes Français and, the following year, the Salon des Artistes Français. Among his best-known students were

Charles Léandre Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, Paul Milliet, Henri Rivière and Paul Signac.

Political affairs

In 1883, he became Mayor of the Eighteenth Arrondissement. Six years later, he was relieved of his duties by Ernest Constans, the Minister of the Interior, on accusations of "Boulangism", perhaps due to his portrait of General Boulanger that had been exhibited at the Salon in 1888. Bin himself believed that it was all due to political manipulation by the socialist, Jules Joffrin, who was running against Boulanger in the

Legislative Elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

That same year, to mark the centenary of the French Revolution, he executed a twenty-canvas historical

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

in the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, covering events from the Storming of the Bastille to the departure of Léon Gambetta during the Siege."Le Musée historique", '' La Presse'', 6 March 1889, p. 3. The titles of these works differ from those reported in ''Le Figaro'' (4 August 1889, p. 2) Bin died on 4 September 1897 in Marly-la-Ville.

References

External links

Biography
@ ''Apophtegme'' * Photographs of Bin's works @ the Base Arcade:

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Hercule, frappé de démence, tue ses enfants et Mégare, leur mère
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Plafond destiné à l'Hôtel de Ville de Poitiers
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