French painter Hippolyte Flandrin, who lived in the 19th century, was interested in a career as an artist from a young age. His parents, however, urged him to become a businessman instead. Flandrin, however, was not dissuaded from his goal. And not only that - his older brother Augusto and his younger brother Paul were also active as painters. For Augusto, painting was only a secondary activity; he spent his life as a professor in Lyon. Paul, Hippolyte's younger brother, created mainly portraits and religious paintings. After Hippolyte and Paul moved to Paris, they eventually found themselves in the studio of the famous neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Ingres became not only a teacher for the two, but also a lifelong friend.
Flandrin's most famous work is undoubtedly the painting "Naked Young Man, Sitting by the Sea", which is now exhibited in the Louvre. He created this painting after being awarded the "Prix de Rome" art prize in 1832. This prize was a prestigious scholarship that decisively helped Flandrin escape his relatively poor living conditions. This scholarship included an educational trip to Rome, where Flandrin spent five years creating works in the tradition of various art movements, which he then sent back to France. In 1857, the "Naked Young Man" was acquired by the Emperor Napoleon III and in this way eventually passed into the collection of the Louvre. Remarkably, this study remains Flandrin's best-known work, despite the fact that it was painted at a relatively early point in his career.
During his stay in Rome, Flandrin created many more paintings, which increased his fame in both France and Italy. After returning to Paris, he created mostly religious works for church buildings. One of these paintings, which he made for the cathedral in Nantes, earned him another prize. Unfortunately, this painting was destroyed in a fire in July 2020. Flandrin decorated many other church buildings with his works, which guaranteed him a steady income for the rest of his life. But portraits of famous people were also part of Flandrin's repertoire. Particularly noteworthy is his portrait of Napoleon III. Instead of depicting the emperor in a particularly flattering manner, Flandrin strove to create as realistic a portrayal as possible and received much acclaim for this. When his health began to fail him due to a lot of hard work and constant dampness and drafts in old church buildings, he decided to take another trip to Rome. There he died of a smallpox infection at the age of 54.
French painter Hippolyte Flandrin, who lived in the 19th century, was interested in a career as an artist from a young age. His parents, however, urged him to become a businessman instead. Flandrin, however, was not dissuaded from his goal. And not only that - his older brother Augusto and his younger brother Paul were also active as painters. For Augusto, painting was only a secondary activity; he spent his life as a professor in Lyon. Paul, Hippolyte's younger brother, created mainly portraits and religious paintings. After Hippolyte and Paul moved to Paris, they eventually found themselves in the studio of the famous neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Ingres became not only a teacher for the two, but also a lifelong friend.
Flandrin's most famous work is undoubtedly the painting "Naked Young Man, Sitting by the Sea", which is now exhibited in the Louvre. He created this painting after being awarded the "Prix de Rome" art prize in 1832. This prize was a prestigious scholarship that decisively helped Flandrin escape his relatively poor living conditions. This scholarship included an educational trip to Rome, where Flandrin spent five years creating works in the tradition of various art movements, which he then sent back to France. In 1857, the "Naked Young Man" was acquired by the Emperor Napoleon III and in this way eventually passed into the collection of the Louvre. Remarkably, this study remains Flandrin's best-known work, despite the fact that it was painted at a relatively early point in his career.
During his stay in Rome, Flandrin created many more paintings, which increased his fame in both France and Italy. After returning to Paris, he created mostly religious works for church buildings. One of these paintings, which he made for the cathedral in Nantes, earned him another prize. Unfortunately, this painting was destroyed in a fire in July 2020. Flandrin decorated many other church buildings with his works, which guaranteed him a steady income for the rest of his life. But portraits of famous people were also part of Flandrin's repertoire. Particularly noteworthy is his portrait of Napoleon III. Instead of depicting the emperor in a particularly flattering manner, Flandrin strove to create as realistic a portrayal as possible and received much acclaim for this. When his health began to fail him due to a lot of hard work and constant dampness and drafts in old church buildings, he decided to take another trip to Rome. There he died of a smallpox infection at the age of 54.
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