François Flameng (1856–1923) was a notable French painter during the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th. He was the son of
Léopold Flameng, a celebrated printmaker, and received a first-rate education in his craft.
Work
Flameng initially received renown for his
history painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
and
portraiture, and became a professor at the
Academy of Fine Arts. He decorated such important civic buildings as the
Sorbonne and the
Opera Comique, and also produced advertising work. Flameng was granted France's highest civilian honor, the
Legion d'Honneur, and designed France's first bank notes. He was also made an honorary Commander of the
Royal Victorian Order in the
1908 Birthday Honours
The 1908 Birthday Honours for the British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began wi ...
.
Flameng later received renown for his painting of
World War I. He was named honorary president of the Society of Military Painters and an accredited documenter for the
War Ministry. His work was displayed in the
Hôtel des Invalides in
Paris, as well as being reproduced in newsmagazines. At the time they were painted, Flameng's war paintings were derided by many critics for being too realistic and not including heroic drama (although his paintings seem
romantic
Romantic may refer to:
Genres and eras
* The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries
** Romantic music, of that era
** Romantic poetry, of that era
** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
to eyes which have seen photographs of genocide and nuclear war).
Most of his war paintings were donated to the Musée de l'Armée in 1920. In 1919 he was elected into the
National Academy of Design as an Honorary Corresponding Academician.
Marriage, family and friends

Flameng married Marguerite Henriette Augusta Turquet (1863–?) at
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
on 30 November 1881.
Their daughter
Marie married the tennis star
Max Decugis, whom Flameng also painted.
[Who's who in Europe: dictionnaire biographique des personnalités ... International Publications Service - 1980 "DECUGIS Max Omer. Rentier. Né a Paris, le 24-9-1882. F.: d'Alfred, commissionnaire en fruits et primeurs, et de Sidonie Brauwers. M. : le 16-5-1905, à Paris, avec Marie-Françoise Flameng. Enf. : Christiane. Asc. : François Flameng ...]
François Flameng was a friend of
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
, who painted his portrait, he also traveled with
Jean-Léon Gérôme and Victor Clairin in
Italy, and tutored
Paul-Émile Bécat.
Gallery
File:Reception at Malmaison in 1802 by François Flameng.jpg, ''Reception at Malmaison in 1802 (circa 1894)''
File:François Flameng - Bathing of Court Ladies in the 18th Century, 1888.jpg, Court Ladies Bathing in the 18th Century (1888)
File:A Machine-Gun Company of Chasseurs Alpins in the Barren Winter Landscape of the Vosges. painting by Francois Flamenge.jpg, A Machine Gun Company of Chasseurs Alpins in the Barren Winter Landscape of the Vosges
File:François Flameng-Retour d’un vol.jpg, Retour d’un vol de nuit sur avions "Voisin" de bombardement (1918)
File:The pathway of life to which is added a biography of Dr. Talmage (1888) (14779220691).jpg, The pathway of life ... to which is added a biography of Dr. Talmage (1888)
File:Flameng - Le déjeuner de Camille Desmoulins.jpg, ''Le déjeuner de Camille Desmoulins'', tableau de François Flameng reproduit dans le ''Supplément illustré du Petit Journal'' (5 November 1892).
File:Flameng – Marie-Louise Fould, née Heine.jpg, Mme Marie-Louise Fould, née Heine (1903)
File:Zinaide Yusupova with sons by F.Flameng (1894).jpg, ''Portrait of Princess Zinaida N. Yusupova with Two Sons at Arkhangelskoe (1894)''
File:Flameng Francois Family Portrait Of A Boy And His Two Sisters.jpg, ''Frère et Soeurs Brother and Sisters or possibly The Picture Book or possibly Family Portrait of a Boy and his two Sisters admiring a Sketch Book (1900)''
Works
Flameng's portraits include:
*Family Portrait of a Boy and His Two Sisters
*Fashionable Beauty
*Portrait of a Girl Holding Her Two Toy Elephants
*Portrait of
Auguste Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
*Two portraits of Princess
Zinaida Yusupova in
Arkhangelskoye
*Portrait of Elsie Salomon Duveen, wife of the art dealer
Joseph Duveen, an oval in the Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-upon-Hull.
* Portrait of Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII, full-length seated, in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace.
Flameng's history paintings included:
*The Carnival, Venice
*Court Ladies Bathing in the 18th century
*Grolier in the House of Aldus (at
Grolier Club in New York)
*Molière Demanding an Audience With King
Louis XIV at
Versailles
*Napoléon Studying Military History
*Reception at
Malmaison, 1802
Paintings of the first world war include:
*A Machine Gun Company of Chasseurs Alpins in the Barren Winter Landscape of the
Vosges
*The Battle of the Yser in 1914
*The Donkey,
Somme __NOTOC__
Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places
*Somme (department), a department of France
*Somme, Queensland, Australia
*Canal de la Somme, a canal in France
*Somme (river), a river in France
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Somme'' (book), a ...
, 1916
*The Forgotten Front
*Heavy Artillery on the Railway, October 1916
References
External links
The Landscapes of War- page with a gallery of war paintings of François Flameng
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flameng, Francois
1856 births
1923 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
Academic staff of the Académie Julian
Honorary Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order
Members of the Académie des beaux-arts
19th-century painters of historical subjects
19th-century French male artists