Georges Bernard Michel (12 January 1763,

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 ...

– 8 June 1843, Paris) was a French landscape painter. His works are considered to be a precursor of the Barbizon School.

Biography

His father was an employee at

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...

, a large marketplace in the central part of Paris. Thanks to support from the local Fermier Général, he was able to take lessons from a history painter named Leduc, which enabled him to gain admission to the

Académie de Saint-Luc The Académie de Saint-Luc (; ) was a guild of painters and sculptors set up in Paris in 1391, and dissolved in 1776. It was created by the Provost of Paris, along the lines of the Guilds of Saint Luke in other parts of Europe. In 1648, a group ...

. There, he studied with

Claude-Joseph Vernet Claude-Joseph Vernet (; 14 August 17143 December 1789) was a French painter. His son, Carle Vernet, was also a painter. Life and work Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet (1689–1753) ...

.Various, ''Un siècle de paysages, les choix d'un amateur'', musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Éditions Hazan, 2010, pg.168, He would later take lessons from

Nicolas-Antoine Taunay Nicolas-Antoine Taunay (10 February 1755 – 20 March 1830) was a French painter known best for his landscapes with scenes from ancient and modern history, mythology, and religion. Early years Nicolas Antoine Taunay was born in Paris, France, in ...

. Over the next few years, he earned a meagre living as a drawing teacher. In 1789, he accompanied the Duke of Guiche to Germany and met

Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun (1748 – 7 August 1813) was a French painter, art collector and art dealer. Simon Denis was his pupil. Life Born in Paris, he was the son of the painter Pierre Le Brun (1704–1771), who was himself a great-nep ...

, who would provide him with the means to earn a decent, steady income, restoring paintings and making copies of 17th-century Dutch landscapes.Biography
@ the Musée Léon-Dierx He married his first wife that same year, and they would have five children. He exhibited his own paintings 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, ...

for the first time in 1791. Although he continued to exhibit there regularly for twenty years, he apparently failed to achieve much recognition. In 1813 he opened a shop for selling his works, as well as curios and furniture. It closed in 1820. During this time, he obtained the patronage of Jean-Baptiste Roslin, Baron d'Ivry (1775-1839), who was an amateur landscape and history painter. He was stricken with paralysis and died in 1843, aged eighty. His grave is in the Cemetery of Montparnasse.André Roussard, ''Dictionnaire des peintres de Montmartre'', 1999, He had held no exhibitions since 1821, and was largely forgotten. Most of his work concentrates on rural landscapes in the area around Paris. In keeping with his work as a copyist, his early paintings were influenced by Dutch landscape painters such as

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achie ...

and

Meindert Hobbema Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (bapt. 31 October 1638 – 7 December 1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, ''The Avenue at Middelharnis'' (1689, National Galler ...

. Toward the end of the 19th-century, his paintings were rediscovered by the art dealer

Paul Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (; 31 October 1831 – 5 February 1922) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, he ...

, who promoted them throughout Europe. The first large exhibition of his work was presented by the

Galerie Charpentier The Galerie Charpentier was a gallery of historic and contemporary art 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 ...

in 1927. Today his works are found in museums around the world, including

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum (PAM) is an art museum in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The Portland Art Museum has 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2), with more than 112,000 square feet (10,400 m2) of gallery space. The museum’s permanent c ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Gallery, Strasbourg Musée des Beaux-Arts,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, and many others.

Selected paintings

(Gaillac) La route tournante - Georges Michel - musée des Beaux-Arts de Gaillac.jpg, The Turning Road Georges Michel (1763-1843) - Landscape with Windmills - VIS.308 - Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust.jpg, Landscape with Windmills Georges Michel (1763-1843) - Landscape with Cottages - 3111 - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.jpg, Landscape with Farms Chaumière à la lisière d'un bois.jpg, Thatched Cottage on the Edge of a Wood. Georges Michel (1763-1843) - Landscape with Fishermen at the Mouth of a River - WA1937.46 - Ashmolean Museum.jpg, Landscape with Fishermen

References

External links

Georges Michel
@ the Base Joconde {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Georges French landscape painters Painters from Paris 1763 births 1843 deaths

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links