Background
Ernest Meissonier was born on February 21, 1815 in Lyon, France. He was the son of Charles Meissonier, who owned a factory in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, that made dyes for the textile industry.
13 Rue Charlemagne, 75004 Paris, France
Lycée Charlemagne
Ernest Meissonier was born on February 21, 1815 in Lyon, France. He was the son of Charles Meissonier, who owned a factory in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, that made dyes for the textile industry.
Initially, Ernest attended Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. Some time later, he studied under Jules Potier and then in the studio of Leon Cogniet.
In his early years, Meissonier spent much time making illustrations for the publishers Curmer and Hetzel. In 1831, he took part in Salon (Paris), where he exhibited his painting "Les Bourgeois Flamands" (Dutch Burghers), but also known as "The Visit to the Burgomaster", which was subsequently purchased by Sir Richard Wallace.
After some not very happy attempts in religious painting, he returned to the class of work he was born to excel in, and exhibited with much success "Game of Chess" (1841), "Young Man playing the Cello" (1842), "Painter in his Studio" (1843), "The Guard Room", "Young Man looking at Drawings", "Game of Piquet" (1845) and "Game of Bowls", the works, which showed the certainty of his technique and assured his success.
In June 1868, Meissonier travelled to Antibes together with his wife Emma Steinhel and children, and two of his horses, Bachelier and Lady Coningham. He may have been attracted there for historical reasons.
Meissonier was put by Napoleon III to the imperial staff and accompanied him during the campaign in Italy at the beginning of the war in 1870. During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), he was a colonel of a regiment de marche, one of the improvised units thrown up in the chaos of the Franco-Prussian war.
In 1875, on the occasion of the centenary festival in honour of Michelangelo, Ernest Meissonier was the delegate of the Institute of France to Florence and spoke as its representative.
Some time later, the painter was appointed a president of the jury on painting at the Exposition Universelle of 1889.
During his lifetime, he also created a series of etchings, which included such works, as "The Last Supper", "The Skill of Vuillaume the Lute Player", "The Little Smoker", "The Old Smoker" and others.
On a Terrace
A Painter
Napoléon III at the Battle of Solferino
Dimanche à Poissy
L'auberge du Pont de Poissy
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Chess Players
Courtyard of the Artist's Studio
Portrait of Marquesa de Manzanedo
Leland Stanford
The End of the Game of Cards
Bords de la Seine à Poissy
The Portrait of a Sergeant
The siege of Paris in 1870
1807, Friedland
The Card Players
Self-portrait
A Game of Piquet
The Barricade, rue de la Mortellerie, June 1848
1814. Campagne de France (Napoleon and his staff returning from Soissons after the Battle of Laon)
Napoleon I in 1814
The Philosopher
Relief after the Battle
Napoleon and his Staff
Young Man with a Book
Self-portrait
Street Scene near Antibes
1805, Cuirassiers Before the Charge
Meissonier married a Protestant woman from Strasbourg named Emma Steinhel in 1838. The couple gave birth to two children — Therese and Jean Charles, who would later become a painter.