François Émile Michel (19 July 1828 – 23 May 1909) was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

and

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. Born in Metz, Michel became a student of Auguste Migette and Laurent-Charles Maréchal, the stained glass painter, and began to exhibit in 1853. Among Michel's masterpieces are ''Une Gardense d'Oies'' (1853) and ''Unit d'ete'' (1872). He wrote for the ''

Gazette des Beaux-Arts The ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts'' was a French art review, founded in 1859 by Édouard Houssaye, with Charles Blanc as its first chief editor. Assia Visson Rubinstein was chief editorial secretary under the direction of George Wildenstein from 1 ...

'' and other periodicals. His most famous book is on the life and works of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

. His other books include ''Les Brueghel'' and ''Paul Potter''. He was elected a member of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

in 1892. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Paintings

* ''Bords de la Couse à Saillan'', musée de Soissons * ''Dans la lande'',

Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille The Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille (''Lille Palace of Fine Arts'') is a municipal museum dedicated to fine arts, modern art, and antiquities located in Lille. It is one of the largest art museums in France. It was one of the first museums built i ...

* ''Le Torrent de Cerveyrieux dans l'Ain'', Musée Antoine Vivenel * ''Semailles d'automne'',

musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

Publications

* '' La Forêt de Fontainebleau dans la nature, dans l’histoire, dans la littérature et dans l’art'', Renouard, Paris, 1909. * ''Les Maîtres du paysage'', Hachette, Paris, 1906. * ''The Masters of Landscape Painting'', Heinemann, London, 1910. * ''Essais sur l’histoire de l’art, Société d’édition artistique'', Paris, 1900. * ''

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

, sa vie, son œuvre et son temps'', Hachette, Paris, 1900. * ''

. Sa vie, son œuvre et son temps'', Hachette, paris, 1893.English translation from 1894
''Rembrandt, his life, his work and his time'' on

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

* ''

Jacob van Ruysdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achieve ...

et les Paysagistes de l’École de Harlem'', Librairie de l’art, Paris, 1892. * ''Les Brueghel''. Paris : Librairie de l’art, 1892 * '' Hobbéma et les Paysagistes de son temps en Hollande'', Librairie de l’art, Paris, 1890. * '' Le Musée de Cologne''. Paris : J. Rouam, 1884. * ''Étude historique et critique sur le musée de peinture de la ville de Metz'', Blanc, Metz, 1868.

References

1828 births 1909 deaths Writers from Metz French art critics 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male writers Metz School Rembrandt scholars {{France-artist-stub