Georges-Jules-Auguste Cain (16 April 1856,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

- 4 March 1919, Paris) was a French painter, illustrator and writer, who specialized in the history of Paris, its monuments and its theaters.

Biography

His grandfather, Pierre-Jules Mêne and his father,

Auguste Cain Auguste Nicolas Caïn (10 November 1821 – 6 August 1894) was a French sculptor in the Animaliers school, known for his portrayals of wild and domesticated animals. Life Caïn was born in Paris, and studied under Rude, Guionnet, and Pier ...

were both animal sculptors. He studied with

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. According to ''Diccionario Enciclopedi ...

and Jean-Georges Vibert, but was most heavily influenced by

Édouard Detaille Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille (; 5 October 1848 – 23 December 1912) was a French academic painter and military artist noted for his precision and realistic detail. He was regarded as the "semi-official artist of the French army". Biogra ...

. In 1878, he made his debut 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 ...

with ''Fumeur de l'époque Louis XV'' (Smoker from the Time of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

) and continued to exhibit there on a regular basis until 1900. He illustrated the ''

Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

'' by

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

and several works by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

, including ''

La Cousine Bette ''La Cousine Bette'' (, ''Cousin Bette'') is an 1846 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Bette works wit ...

'' and ''

La Bourse ''La Bourse'' (''The Purse'') is a short story by the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1832 by Mame-Delaunay as one of the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' (''Scenes of Private Life'') in ''La Comédie humaine''. Later editi ...

''. His works may be seen in the in Bayeux, the

Musée de Picardie The Musée de Picardie is the main museum of Amiens and Picardy, in France. It is located at 48, rue de la République, Amiens. Its collections include artifacts ranging from prehistory to the 19th century, and form one of the largest regiona ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, and the

Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is dedicated to the history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, the civil servant wh ...

in Paris, where he served as Curator from 1897 to 1914. His brother

Henri Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry (given name), Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List_of_rulers_named_Henry#France, List of rulers named Henry ...

was a famous

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. A square in

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...

, near the Musée Carnavalet, has been named in his honor.ParisConnect: Square Georges-Cain.
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Selected writings in English

* ''Nooks and Corners of Old Paris'', with a preface by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...

, translated by Frederick Lawton, E. G. Richards (1907), reprinted by the

University of Michigan Library The University of Michigan Library is the academic library system of the University of Michigan. The university's 38 constituent and affiliated libraries together make it the List of largest libraries in the United States#Largest research libraries ...

* ''Walks in Paris'', translated by Alfred Allinson, Macmillan (1909) * ''The Byways of Paris'', translated by Louise Seymour Houghton, Duffield (1912)

References

External links

* *
Short biography and photograph
from ''Nos peintres et sculpteurs, graveurs, dessinateurs...'', Sociétés de Beaux-Arts, (1897) @

Open Library Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive, ...

ArtNet: More works by Cain

Illustrations from ''La Cousine Bette''
@ Gallica
Books by Cain
@ the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, Georges 1856 births 1919 deaths French illustrators French travel writers 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French male artists