Louis Monziès (28 May 1849 – 13 March 1930) was a French painter and etcher. He was the curator of the three Museums of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

for 10 years until his death.

Career

Louis Monziès began to learn painting and etching in Paris in 1871 from the painters Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier and

Isidore Pils Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects. Biography Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Le ...

, and from the etcher Léon Gaucherel. He got second-class and third-class medals in 1876, 1880 and 1881 at the annual

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, ...

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 ...

. He married Eugénie Alphonsine Courtignon in 1882 at

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

and three children were born : Jean in 1889, Pierre in 1891 and Jacques in 1895. He lived then in

but he owned also a small house in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

near

Gréville-Hague Gréville-Hague () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune La Hague.

. Louis Monziès carried out etchings for illustrated books and for Art publications, among them, those after Meissonier and

Henri Pille Charles Henri Pille (4 January 1844 – 4 March 1897) was a French painter and illustrator. Life Charles Henri Pille was born in Essômes-sur-Marne, Aisne, on 4 January 1844. He studied under Félix-Joseph Barrias. He submitted his first painti ...

. He became a member of the

Société des artistes français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

in 1884 and also a member of the Société des Peintres-Graveurs français in 1891. He was quite popular in Parisian art salons with the Hédouins and in the literary gathering of the editor Lemerre who published famous living writers and poets with Louis' etchings. Louis Monziès visited London and was named to the Royal Society of Painters-Etchers in 1894 when he received orders for illustrations for English books and publications. His etchings are included in major collections such as

The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

or the

Museum of Fine Arts Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 work ...

. But with photo-etching and other new publication processes, etchers were less and less able to make a good living from their skills. Louis Monziès move to

and became a painting teacher and a painting restoration specialist. He began to paint landscapes and urban environments in

and in other towns like Venise or

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. He sold a lot of watercolors and oil paintings before the First World War. A few of these paintings were sent to the US by American officers housed by the painter at the end of the war. He became the curator of the Museums of

in March 1920 and stayed so until his death in 1930.

Illustrated books and Art publications

Etchings after oil paintings

Source: * Season of October (1894) after Bastien-Lepage * The beggar (1881) after Bastien-Lepage * Aurore and Céphale after Boucher * Woman lying down after Boucher * Pastorale (1902) after Boucher * The Pilgrims from the Abbey of St. Odile (1876) after Brion * Burial of a Sailor at Villerville (1880) after Butin * Hare after

Chardin Chardin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, (1699–1779), French painter noted for his still life works * Jean Chardin, (1643–1713), French jeweller and traveller, author of ''The Trave ...

* Sarah Bernard (1881) after

Clairin Clairin (, , ) is a distilled alcoholic spirit made from sugarcane produced in Haiti, that undergoes the same distillation process as rhum, although not as refined. There are between 500 and 600 micro-distilleries in Haiti, compared to fewer th ...

* Portrait of the etcher Schmidt after de La Tour * The bath (1897) after Demont Breton * Self-portrait with his family (1891) after de Vos * Portrait of

Ulysse Butin Ulysse, the French spelling of Ulysses, is a masculine French given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ulysse Adjagba (born 1993), French basketball player *Ulysse Bozonnet (1922–2014), French ski mountaineer *Ulysse Chevalier (1841 ...

(1880) after Duez * Th birth after Duez * Wedding at City Hall (1873) after Durand * Portraits of Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards after

Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Early life Born in Grenoble, Isère, Ignace Henri Jean Th� ...

* Young girl with small dogs (1888) after Fragonard * Hawking (1877) after Fromentin * Sarah Siddons after

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

* In 1795 (1895) after

Goupil Goupil may refer to: People * Eugène Goupil (1831–1896), French Mexican philanthropist and collector *Guillaume François Charles Goupil de Préfelne (1727–1801), member of the Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () ...

* Wonderful after

* The payer after

Greuze Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French Painting, painter of portraits, genre art, genre scenes, and history painting. Early life Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy (French region), Burgundy. ...

* Washerwomen after Heilbuth * Bridesmaids to marry after Jiménez Aranda * Henri de la Rochejacquelein after Le Blant * Fishing (1880) after Leloir * Apotheosis de Carpeaux (1892) after Maignan * Bridge inn of Poissy (1889) after Meissonier * Harlequin with a rose (1888) after Meissonier * Son of Meissonier as Louis XIII (1888) after Meissonier * Koubra in the workshop after Meissonier * Young man reading after Meissonier * At Diderot's Library (1885) after Meissonier * Maréchal Duroc Duc de Frioul (1876) after Meissonier * Musketeer after Meissonier * Dutch woman and child after Neuhuys * Portrait of woman in red after

Pontormo Jacopo Carucci or Carrucci (; May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as Jacopo (da) Pontormo or simply Pontormo (), was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound stylisti ...

* The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (1879) after Ribot * Henry VI after Seymour Lucas * Confidence after Stevens * Rider on a sofa (1870) after Vibert * Coquelin elder (1875) after Vibert * Melon merchant (1876) after Vibert * Lady Lindsay of Balcarres (1877) after

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...

* Hugo Van Der Goes at the convent of Rooden Cloestere (1875) after Wauters * Flemish Postal Station after Wouwerman

Etchings for French books

Source:List of etchings for illustrated books
by Louis Monziès (in French) *

Abbé Prévost Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles ( , , ; 1 April 169725 November 1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French priest, author, and novelist. Life and works He was born at Hesdin, Artois, and first appears with the full na ...

- ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. It tells a tragic love story about a nobleman (known only as the Chevalier des Grieux) and a common woman (Manon Lescaut). Their decisio ...

'', Lemerre, 1870, 1878 : etchings after Gravelot and Jacques Jean Pasquier * Ackermann - ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1877 : frontispiece * Arène - ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1877 : frontispiece * Asselineau - ''Le livre des sonnets'', Lemerre, 1893 : frontispiece *

Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitl ...

- ''Le bonheur dans le crime'', Société Normande du livre illustré, 1897 : etchings after Regamey *

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, invent ...

- ''Le barbier de Séville'', Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1882 : etchings after Santiago Arcos *

- '' Le mariage de Figaro'', Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1882 : etchings after Santiago Arcos *

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (; also called Bernardin de St. Pierre) (19 January 1737, in Le Havre – 21 January 1814, in Éragny, Val-d'Oise) was a French writer and botanist. He is best known for his 1788 novel, '' Paul et Virginie ...

Paul et Virginie ''Paul et Virginie'' (; sometimes known in English as ''Paul and Virginia'') is a novel by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, first published in 1788. The novel's title characters are friends since birth who fall in love. The story is s ...

, Lemerre 1877 : frontispiece * Boileau- ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1875 : etchings after

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (; 2 April 1755 – 2 February 1826) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ''Physiologie du goût'' (''The Physiology of Taste''), became celebrated for his culinary reminiscences and reflect ...

-'' Physiologie du goû'' t, Carteret 1923 * Burty - ''L'eau-forte en 1875'', Cadart 1875 : etching "L'amateur de tableaux" * Burty - ''L'eau-forte en 1878'', Cadart 1878 : etching "L'opinion du modèle" * Châteaubrian - ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1877 : frontispiece after Devéria * Chénier - ''Poésies'', Charpentier 1888 : etchings after

Bida Bida is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria and a city on the A124 highway which occupies most of the area. The LGA has an area of and a population of 188,181 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 912. Geography Bida ...

, * Claretie - ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1886 : frontispiece * Desbordes-Valmore- ''Œuvres poétiques, ''Lemerre 1886 : frontispiece * Dorchain - ''Poésies'', Lemerre, 1895 : frontispiece *

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

, ''Théatre'', Lemere, 1885 : frontispiece * Hugo - ''Cromwell'''','' Lemerre : frontispiece * Hugo - ''Légende des siècles'', Edition Nationale Emile Testard & Cie, 1886 : etchings after E. Bordes * Hugo - ''

Les Orientales ''Les Orientales'' () is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, inspired by the Greek War of Independence. They were first published in January 1829. Of the forty-one poems, thirty-six were written during 1828. They offer a series of highly colou ...

'', etchings * Hugo - '' Odes et ballades'', etchings * Hugo - ''Notre-Dame de Paris'', Lemerre, 1879 : etchings after Pille *

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

- ''Contes'', Lemerre, 1876 : etchings after Fragonard, Lancret, Pater, Boucher, Eisen, Vleughels *

- ''

Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

'', Lemerre : etchings after Oudry * Lafenestre - ''Le livre d'or du salon de peinture et de sculpture 1881'', Librairie des bibliophile, 1881 : etching * Lemaistre de Sacy - ''L'Histoire de Joseph'', Hachette 1878 : etchings after

* Lemaistre de Sacy - ''L'Histoire de Tobie, ''Hachette 1880 : etchings after

* Lesage - '' Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane'', Lemerre : etchings after Pille * Lesage - ''Le Diable boiteux'', Lemerre : etchings after Pille * Louvet de Couvray - ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'', Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1884 : etchings after

Avril Avril means April in French and other languages. It may also refer to: Places * Mont Avril, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border * Avril, Meurthe-et-Moselle, a commune of the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, France People * Avril (name) * ...

* Mantz - ''François Boucher, Quantin'' : etchings after Boucher *

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

- ''L'Illustration nouvelle par une société de peintres-graveurs à l'eau-forte, sixième année'', Cadart 1879 : etching "Le joueur de Mandoline" * Michelet, ''Jeanne d'Arc'', Hachette, 1888 : etchings after

* Musset, ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1878 : etchings after Pille * Perrault -'' Contes de Fées'', Lemerre : etchings after Pille * '' Portalis ''- ''Honoré Fragonard, sa vie et son oeuvre'', Rothschild, 1889 : etching * Racine, ''Œuvres'', Lemerre, 1874 : etchings after Gravelot *

Sarasin Sarasin is a surname, originating (unrelatedly) in Switzerland and Thailand. * Arsa Sarasin (born 1936), Thai diplomat and businessman * Edouard Sarasin (1843–1917), Swiss scientist * Fritz Sarasin (1859–1942), full name Karl Friedrich Sarasin ...

, frontispiece * Scarron -'' Le Roman Comique'', Lemerre : etchings after Pille *

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

- ''Œuvres'', Lemerre : etchings after Pille * Uzanne - ''Caprices d'un bibliophile'', 1878 : etchings *

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

- ''Romans'', Lemerre, 1878 : etchings after Monnet and Marillier

Etchings for English books

Brooks Brooks may refer to: * Brook (small stream) Places Antarctica * Cape Brooks Canada *Brooks, Alberta United Kingdom * Brooks, Cornwall * Brooks, Powys, a location United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas * Brooks, California *Brooks, ...

- ''Dames and Daughters of the French Court '': portrait of Madame Valmore * Charles and Mary Lamb - ''

Tales from Shakespeare ''Tales from Shakespeare'' is an English children's book written by the siblings Charles and Mary Lamb in 1807, intended "for the use of young persons" while retaining as much Shakespearean language as possible. Mary Lamb was responsible for ...

'', Heath & Co, 1908 : etchings * Chevillard Lenoir - ''Celebrated Artists Sketches of Their Lives and Works'', Nims & Knight, 1888 * Comyns Carr - ''Examples of Contemporary Arts. Etchings from Representative Works by living English and Foreign Artists'', 1878 : etching "Lady Lindsay of Balcarres" d'après

* Hugo - ''Dramas'', G. Barrie, 1896 : etching after E. Bordes * Louvet de Couvray - ''The amours of the chevalier de Faublas'', Société des Bibliophiles, 1898 : etchings after

* Musset - ''All writings'', Edwin C. Hill

References

External links

Louis Monziès : Biography and works
(in French, an English version should be published soon) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monzies, Louis 1849 births 1930 deaths 19th-century French etchers 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French watercolourists Academic art Painters from Paris People from Le Mans 20th-century French printmakers 19th-century French male artists