Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898)was perhaps the most widely celebrated painter of idyll in France at the end of the century. The son of an engineer, Puvis was trained in that profession until a trip to Italy changed the course of his life and he decided to become a painter.
He studied briefly with Henri Scheffer and Thomas Couture and took a course in anatomy and perspective at I’Ecole des Beaux-arts. He travelled again in Italy, staying the second time for over a year, where he looked copied and painted. Puvis rejected realism and impressionism and went his own way to the 19th century serenely unaffected by these movements.
He produced his first decorative paintings in 1854-55 at the family estate in Brouchy. In 1861 Puvis presented two monumental wall paintings at the Salon on the epic themes of War and Peace.
Among his notable work include:
Death and the Maiden,
The Dream, and
The Poor Fisherman.
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
