Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin (; 25 March 1783, in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

– 19 January 1855, 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 ...

) was a French portrait and history painter.

Biography

He was born into a working-class family that moved to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

when his father acquired a locksmithing business there in 1794. During his apprenticeship in that trade, he also studied drawing at a local school and displayed some talent for it. Soon, he was spending all of his free time painting. During this time he befriended another aspiring painter, Augustin Aubert, who he joined in Paris in 1802, financing the trip by selling works to a local Baron who was an amateur art enthusiast. After that point, he devoted himself exclusively to painting. Jean lannes

For a short time, he was employed as an assistant to

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

while serving as an unpaid apprentice in the studios of François-André Vincent. In Gérard's studio, he prepared the canvases by painting clothing, drapery and miscellaneous items. Most of his earnings were sent home to help support his family. After a time, he became bored with such tedious work and, in 1810, submitted some of his paintings to the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

where they were generally well received. Vivant Denon asked him to help decorate the ceiling at the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

, but the project was never finished due to the Bourbon Restoration. After that, he helped to renovate the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

and restore the paintings there. In 1817, he won a gold medal for "Jésus mort et la Mère des douleurs" (Jesus who Died and the Mother of Sorrows), created for the Baltimore Basilica, the oldest major Catholic structure in the United States. Charles Nodier par Guerin

In 1822 his tableau "Anchise et Vénus" attracted the attention of King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, which earned him the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and, two years later, the honor of painting the King's portrait. In 1828, he was appointed the Director of drawing and painting at the

Maison d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur The maisons d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur () are the French secondary schools set up by Napoleon and originally meant for the education of girls whose father, grandfather or great-grandfather had been awarded the Légion d'honneur. Access i ...

. He also gave private lessons. During the reign of King Louis Philippe, he continued to receive numerous public commissions. A few months after his death, a major exhibition of his paintings was given at the Exposition Universelle (1855). Some of his works have been mistakenly attributed to Pierre-Narcisse Guérin or

Jean-Urbain Guérin Jean-Urbain Guérin (; 1760 – 29 October 1836)Acte de décès ...

, and vice versa. Neither of them were related to him.

References

External links

Paulin Guérin
@ the Base Joconde
À propos du portrait de Chateaubriand
@ ''La Tribune de l'Art'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Jean-Baptiste 1783 births 1855 deaths 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters Artists from Toulon Painters from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links