European Art and Old Masters

Note

The exacting precision with which Ernest Meissonier executed his figures has drawn comparisons to the work of 17th century Dutch painters with whom he had much in common as a Classicist who embraced the tenets of the French Academy. Meissonier espoused a very traditional view of painting, living and working in ‘The Grand Mansion’ in Poissy from 1846, and toward the end of his life becoming the President of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. While the artist enjoyed considerable success during his lifetime for his Napoleonic and military-themed compositions–he described himself as a history painter–he was also quite accomplished as a genre painter who excelled at depicting 17th and 18th century domestic scenes, as seen in the present work.