Hugues Merle (1822–1881) was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

who mostly depicted sentimental or moral subjects. He has often been compared to

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...

Biography

Hugues Merle was born in 1822 in La Sône. He studied painting with

Léon Cogniet 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 ...

. Merle started exhibiting at the

Salon (Paris) The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

in 1847. He received second class prizes in 1861 and 1863. In 1866 he was made Chevalier of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. Hugues Merle became a friend of

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 ...

in the early 1860s.

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

had started buying paintings by Merle in 1862 and introduced the artist to painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Merle was later often compared to Bouguereau and “became a considerable rival of Bouguereau in subject and treatment”. In the mid-1860s, Merle painted several portraits of

, his wife, and their son, John. Hugues Merle died in 1881 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 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His son

Georges Merle Georges Merle (1851–1886) was a French Painting, painter known for his outstanding command of the female form. He often submitted works to the Salon (Paris), Salon in Paris. His father, Hugues Merle, was also a painter. As Georges rarely sign ...

also became a painter.

Influence

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

and

Mark Frost Mark Frost (born November 25, 1953) is an American novelist, screenwriter, film and television producer and director. He is the co-creator of the mystery-horror television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and was a writer and executiv ...

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

TV series character the Log Lady resembles Hugues Merle's painting ''The Lunatic of Étretat'' (1871).

Gallery

File:Hugues Merle - Maternal Affection.jpg, ''Maternal Affection'' File:Hugues Merle - Tristan and Isolde (3698339).jpg, ''Tristan and Isolde'' File:Hugues Merle - Contes enfantines (3696032).jpg, ''The Storyteller'' File:Maternal Love by Hugues Merle, 1880, High Museum of Art.jpg, ''Maternal Love'' File:Hugues merle thoughts of the future061605).jpg, ''Thoughts of the Future'' File:Hugues Merle - 3698109.jpg, ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' File:Hugues Merle, 1872 - L'Abandonnée.jpg, ''L'abandonnée'', 1872 File:Hugues Merle - Reading the Bible - P597 - The Wallace Collection.jpg, ''Les Orphelines'' File:Hugues Merle - Saint Elizabeth of Hungary - 56.284 - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Saint Elizabeth of Hungary'', 1879 File:Hugues Merle, Mother and Child, c. 1864. Clark Art Institute.tif, ''Mother and Child'', c. 1869.

Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European ...

File:The Forgotten.webp, ''The Forgotten'' File:2021 CKS 20111 0069 000(georges hugues merle esther125500).jpg, ''Esther'' File:Hugues Merle - The Scarlet Letter - Walters 37172.jpg, ''The Scarlet Letter'', 1861

References

Bibliography

*''European Art in the High Museum'', by Eric M. Zafran, Atlanta, 1984 *"Accounting for Tastes", by Linda Whiteley, ''Oxford Art Journal,'' Vol. 2, Art and Society (Apr., 1979), pp. 25–28 {{DEFAULTSORT:Merle, Hugues 19th-century French painters French male painters French Roman Catholics 1822 births 1881 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French male artists