Édouard François Zier (1856 – 19 January 1924) was a French illustrator and painter.

Life and works

Édouard François Zier was born in Paris in 1856. He received his instructions in art from his father and later became a pupil of the painter

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...

. His first painting, ''Mort de Caton d'Utique'' ("Death of Cato"), was exhibited 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 ...

of 1874. ''Charles VI et Odette'' appeared at the 1880 Salon; these two paintings and also ''Esther'' (1883) were purchased by the French State. His ''Julia'' (''Julie'', 1875) on a Roman theme was shown at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition and was awarded a gold medal. Zier is known foremost however as an illustrator, for a wide variety of genres. He has illustrated for a number of periodicals, such as ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French language, French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, a ...

'', ''

Le Monde illustré ''Le Monde illustré'' (title translation: ''The Illustrated World'') was a leading illustrated news magazine in France which was published from 1857–1940 and again from 1945 to 1956. It was in many ways similar to its contemporary English ...

'', '' Le Courrier français'', and '. Two of the adventures of the comic book series ''

Bécassine ''Bécassine'' is a French comic strip and the name of its heroine, appearing for the first time in the first issue of ''La Semaine de Suzette'' on February 2, 1905. She is considered one of the first female protagonists in the history of French ...

'' (1917 and 1918) were illustrated by Zier while the original artist Joseph-Porphyre Pinchon served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

., endnote 4 A number of published books were illustrated by him, such as ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, ''Aphrodite'' by

Pierre Louÿs Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...

, ''Le Roman comique'' by

Scarron Paul Scarron (c. 1 July 1610 in Paris – 6 October 1660 in Paris) (a.k.a. Monsieur Scarron) was a French poet, dramatist, and novelist, born in Paris. Though his precise birth date is unknown, he was baptized on 4 July 1610. Scarron was the fi ...

, ' by Georges Le Faure, ''Les Trésors de la fable'' by , ''Voyages et aventures du Capitaine Marius Cougourdan'' by

Eugène Mouton Pierre Martin Désiré Eugène Mouton (12 April 1823, in Marseille – 8 June 1902, in Paris) was a French writer of comic, adventure, and fantastical literature, and is considered an early writer of science fiction. He wrote under the name ''Mér ...

, ''Seulette'' and ''Le Trésor de Madeleine'' by , ' by , ''Papillonne'' by

Zénaïde Fleuriot Zénaïde-Marie-Anne Fleuriot (28 October 1829 – 19 December 1890), was a French novelist. She wrote eighty three novels, all aimed at young women, most of which were published in the series Bibliothèque rose and Bibliothèque bleue. Her writin ...

. He died in

Thiais Thiais () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name Thiais comes from Medieval Latin ''Theodasium'' or ''Theodaxium'', meaning "estate of Theodasius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. The A ...

on 19 January 1924.

Gallery

Image:Édouard Zier - Acis et Galathée se cachant de Polyphème.jpg, ''Acis et Galatée'', Acis and Galatea hide from

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and lege ...

1877 Image:Edouard Zier illustration for Pierre Louys Aphrodite.jpg, '' Aphrodite: mœurs antiques''
1900 Image:Édouard Zier - Portrait idéal.jpg, ''Portrait idéal''
1903 Image:Zier Francis Edouard Ophelia.jpg,

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...

1904 Image:Édouard Zier - Les baigneuses à Biarritz.jpg, ''Les Baigneuses à Biarritz''

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *

External links

''Lambiek Comiclopedia'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zier, Édouard François 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 1856 births 1924 deaths French illustrators French children's book illustrators French comics artists 19th-century French male artists