Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794 – 20 November 1880) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with more than one hundred notable students.

Biography

He was born in Paris. His father was a painter and wallpaper designer. In 1812, he enrolled at the

École des Beaux-arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

, where he studied with Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. He also worked in the studios of Jean-Victor Bertin. After failing an attempt to win the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1816, he won the following year with his depiction of ''Helen Rescued by Castor and Pollux''Grunchec, P. (1985). ''The Grand Prix de Rome: Paintings from the École des Beaux-Arts, 1797-1863''. Washington, DC: International Exhibitions Foundation. p. 66. . and received a stipend to study at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (, ) is an academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1666 by Louis XIV under the dire ...

until 1822. Before leaving, he had his first exhibition at 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, ...

. In 1827, he created a series of murals on the life of

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

for the church of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs. From 1833 to 1835, he painted a scene from

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's expedition to Egypt on one of the ceilings at the

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 ...

. Between 1840 and 1860, he operated a popular painting workshop for women, directed by his sister Marie Amélie and one of his students, Catherine Caroline Thévenin (1813–1892), who later became his wife. After 1843, he concentrated almost entirely on teaching, with an occasional portrait. After 1855, he essentially gave up painting. After 1831, he taught design at the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

. He also taught at the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

from 1847 to 1861. In 1851, he was appointed a Professor at the École des Beaux-arts, a position he held until 1863, when he retired, slowly giving up his private students and becoming more reclusive. He died forgotten in the

10th arrondissement of Paris The 10th arrondissement of Paris (''Xe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ''le dixième'' (; "the tenth", formally ''l ...

in 1880 and is interred at Père-Lachaise. His sister was the painter Marie Amélie Cogniet.

Selected works

History paintings: * ''La Garde nationale de Paris part pour l’armée, Septembre 1792'' (The Paris National Guard on its way to the Army, September 1792) * ''Tintoretto painting his dead daughter'' (1843; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux) * ''Scenes of July 1830'' * Les Drapeaux, 1830. The day after the "Three Glorious Days" of the 1830 Revolution, the painter depicts the white flag of the restoration of the monarchy (on the left), torn and revealing the blue sky (in the middle). The red fold then spreads like a bloodstain (on the right). thus recreating the Republic's tricolor flag. Portraits: * ''Maréchal Maison'' * ''Louis Philippe'' * ''M. de Crillon'' * ''

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure ...

Gallery

File:Cogniet Castor et Pollux.JPG, '' Helen Rescued by

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

'', 1817 File:Léon Cogniet - The Artist in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome - 1978.51 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tiff, ''The Artist in His Room at the Villa Medici, Rome'', 1817 File:Leon coignet The Italian Brigand s Wife.jpg, '' The Italian Brigand's Wife'', 1826 File:Leon Cogniet - Rebecca and Brian de Bois-Guilbert WLC WLC P279.jpg, '' Rebecca and Brian de Bois-Guilbert'', 1828 File:Léon Cogniet. Scene of July 1830 (‘Scène de Juillet 1830’ - 'Les drapeaux'), 1830.jpg, '' Scenes of July 1830'', 1830 File:Jean-François Champollion, by Léon Cogniet.jpg, ''Jean-François Champollion'', 1831 File:Léon Cogniet - La Garde nationale de Paris.jpg, '' The National Guard of Paris Departs for the Army'', 1834 File:Leon Cogniet - L Expedition D Egypte Sous Les Ordres De Bonaparte.jpg, ''The Egyptian Expedition Under the Command of Bonaparte'', ceiling at the

, 1835 File:Cogniet - Nicolas-Joseph Maison (1771-1840) - MV 1168.jpg, Portrait of

Nicolas Joseph Maison Nicolas Joseph Maison, marquis de Maison (; 19 December 1771 – 13 February 1840) was a French military officer who served in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and as commander of the Morea expedition during the Greek War of In ...

, 1835 File:Cogniet Leon Bataille D Heliopolis.jpg, '' The Battle of Heliopolis'', 1837 File:Bataille du mont-thabor.jpg, ''The Battle of Mount Tabor'', 1838

Pupils

Among his numerous students were: *

Pedro Américo Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo (29 April 1843 – 7 October 1905) was a Brazilian novelist, poet, scientist, art theorist, essayist, philosopher, politician and professor, but is best remembered as one of the most important academic painter ...

* Félix-Joseph Barrias * Louis-Ernest Barrias * Émile Bayard * François-Léon Benouville * Émile Bin * Nils Blommér *

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculptures in a Realism (arts), realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the N ...

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (; 20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur, art collector and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 ...

* Alfred Boucher * Marie-Abraham Rosalbin de Buncey * Adolphe-Félix Cals * Henriette Cappelaere * Henri Chapu * François Chifflart * Pierre Auguste Cot * Alfred Darjou *

Alfred de Dreux Pierre-Alfred Dedreux, who signed his works as Alfred de Dreux (23 March 1810, in Paris – 5 March 1860, in Paris) was a French portrait and animal painter, best known for his scenes with horses. Biography Alfred de Dreux was born in 1810 i ...

* Alfred Dehodencq * Godefroy Durand * Louis Duveau * Augustin Feyen-Perrin * Claude Ferdinand Gaillard *

Wojciech Gerson Wojciech Gerson (; 1 July 1831 – 25 February 1901) was a Polish painter, educator, architect and art critic who was one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long ...

* Karl Girardet * Eugène Ernest Hillemacher * Jean-Paul Laurens * Jules Lefebvre *

Diogène Maillart Diogène Ulysse Napoléon Maillart (28 October 1840 – 3 August 1926) was a French painter, illustrator, designer, teacher and art critic. Biography He was born in Lachaussée-du-Bois-d'Écu. His first art lessons were at the "Imperial School ...

* Francisco Masias Rodriguez * Oscar-Pierre Mathieu * Constant Mayer *

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French Academic art, academic painter and sculpture, sculptor. He became famous for his depictions of Napoleon I of France, Napoleon and his military sieges and :wikt:manoeuv ...

* Hugues Merle * Charles Louis Müller * Ion Negulici * Victor Nehlig * Dominique Papety * Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux * Paul Philippoteaux * Adolphe Piot * Gustav Richter * Tony Robert-Fleury * Henryk Rodakowski * Louis Rubio * Eugénie Salanson * August Friedrich Schenck * Hippolyte Sebron * * Charles Sellier

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogniet, Leon 1794 births 1880 deaths 19th-century French painters École des Beaux-Arts alumni Painters from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male painters French romantic painters French portrait painters French history painters Members of the Académie des beaux-arts French Orientalist painters Prix de Rome for painting Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Sibling artists Lycée Louis-le-Grand teachers 19th-century French male artists