Artist and Historian: Charles Meynier

Description

MAYER-MICHALON (Isabelle). Preface by Jean-Pierre Cuzin. Charles Meynier: 1763-1832. Arthena, Deauville, 2008. Publisher's full gray cloth binding with illustrated jacket. Format: large 4to (33 x 25 cm), 448 pages with 520 illustrations including 103 in color. A faithful and favorite pupil of François-André Vincent, Meynier began an official career with the Prix de Rome in 1789, continuing under the Empire and Restoration with his submissions to the Salons and state commissions. Concurrently, the artist worked for the most significant private collectors of his time: Boyer-Fonfrède, Lucien Bonaparte, Marshal Berthier, and Count von Schönborn. An historian painter, Charles Meynier is primarily a masterful draftsman, creating subjects while searching classical sources for rarely illustrated episodes. His drawings reflect great culture, in-depth study of Antiquity, and exceptional literary knowledge, confirmed by the significance of his library and print collection. A very fine copy.