Jean-Jacques Henner

Jean-Jacques Henner
Photograph byNadar(c.1900)
Born	(1829-03-05)5 March 1829 Bernwiller,Alsace
Died	23 July 1905(1905-07-23)(aged 76) Paris,French Third Republic
Nationality	French
Occupation	Painter

Jean-Jacques Henner(5 March 1829 – 23 July 1905) was a Frenchpainter,noted for his use ofsfumatoandchiaroscuroin painting nudes, religious subjects and portraits.

Biography

Self-portrait, 1877

Henner was born atBernwiller(Alsace). He began his studies in art as a pupil ofMichel Martin DrollingandFrançois-Édouard Picot.In 1848, he entered theÉcole des Beaux Artsin Paris, and took thePrix de Romewith a painting ofAdam and Eve finding the Body of Abelin 1858. In Rome, he was guided byFlandrin,and painted four pictures for the gallery atColmaramong other works.

He first exhibitedBather Asleepat theSalonin 1863 and subsequently contributedChaste Susanna(1865), now in theMusée d'Orsay.Other noted works include:Byblis turned into a Spring(1867);The Magdalene(1878);Portrait of M. Hayem(1878);Christ Entombed(1879);Saint Jerome(1881);Bara(1882);Herodias(1887);A Study(1891);Christ in His Shroudand aPortrait ofCarolus-Duran(1896); aPortrait of Mlle Fouquier(1897); andThe Dream(1900).

The Levite of the Tribe of Ephraim(1898) was awarded a first-class medal. Among other professional distinctions, Henner also took a Grand Prix for painting at the ParisExposition Universelle of 1900.He was made Chevalier of theLegion of Honourin 1873, Officer in 1878, and Commander in 1889. In 1889, he succeededCabanelin theInstitut de France.Henner's most widely known work is his 1885 painting ofSaint Fabiola.Although the original is now lost, it was copied by artists around the world for devotional purposes. ArtistFrancis Alÿshas collected over 500 copies of the painting in a variety of media. The collection is known as the "Fabiola Project".

Henner died at age 76 in Paris.

Pupils

Henner's portrait of Laura Leroux, 1898,Musée d'Orsay,Paris.

Henner had numerous pupils; among them were the American painterMathilde Mueden Leisenringand the Romanian artistDimitrie Serafim.From 1874 to 1889 he taught at "the studio of the ladies", organized withCarolus-Duran,at a time when women were not allowed entry to theÉcole des Beaux-Arts.Some of these students also served as his models. One of these wasDorothy Tennant,who later marriedHenry Morton Stanley.Another wasLaura Leroux-Revault,daughter of his close friendHector Leroux;Henner's full-length portrait of Laura Leroux now at theMusée d'Orsaywas shown at the Paris Salon of 1898 and purchased by the French State.

Another pupil wasElizabeth Snowden Nichols Watrous(1858–1921), later the wife of artistHarry Watrous.Henner gave the couple a painting when they were married in 1887.

Suzanne Valadon(1865–1938) also worked as one of his models.

Bibliography

• E Bricon,Psychologie d'art(Paris, 1900); C Phillips,Art Journal(1888)
• Frederick Wedmore,Magazine of Art(1888).
• Isabelle de Lannoy,Catalogue raisonne Jean-Jacques Henner 1829-1905[2008]

Gallery

• 
  Reclining Nude,
  National Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C.
• 
  Woman on a Black Divan,
  Musée des Beaux-Arts,Mulhouse
• 
  La liseuse,
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Nus féminins
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Jésus au tombeau
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Jules Janssen
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Portrait d'homme
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Portrait of a Young Girl with a Bow in Her Hair,private collection
• 
  Alsatian Girl,
  National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• 
  Saint Fabiola
  copy of lost original
• 
  Study of a Woman in Red,The Hermitage,
  St. Petersburg, Russia
• 
  A Red-Haired Beauty,
  private collection
• 
  Head of a Girl-Brooklyn Museum
• 
  The Chaste Susannah
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris
• 
  Le réveil de l'enfant
  Musée des Beaux-Arts,Dijon
• 
  Penitent Magdalene,
  private collection -Cantor Arts Center,Stanford, California
• 
  Idylle
  Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris

See also

• Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner

References

Media related toJean-Jacques Hennerat Wikimedia Commons