Léon Cogniet
1794–1880 · French history and portrait painter of the Romantic period
Léon Cogniet (Paris, 1794 – Paris, 1880) was a French painter working in a Romantic style with Neoclassical roots, devoted mainly to history painting and portraiture. He is probably best remembered today as a teacher, with more than a hundred students, among them Rosa Bonheur, Léon Bonnat and Jean-Paul Laurens. Apart from painting, he was also known for his lithographs.
He began his training in 1812 at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, while also working in the studio of Jean-Victor Bertin. After an unsuccessful first attempt at the Prix de Rome, he won it in 1817 with Helen Rescued by Castor and Pollux, which gave him a stay at the French Academy in Rome until 1822.
Back in Paris he received large commissions. In 1827 he painted a series on the life of Saint Stephen for the church of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs and, between 1833 and 1835, a scene from Napoleon's expedition to Egypt for one of the ceilings of the Louvre. His greatest success came in 1843 with Tintoretto Painting His Dead Daughter, after which he turned increasingly to portraits and teaching.
His teaching was extensive. He taught at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and the École polytechnique, and in 1851 he was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, a post he held until 1863. After 1855 he had essentially given up painting and withdrew gradually from public life.
He died forgotten in Paris in 1880 and was buried at Père-Lachaise. His legacy lies largely in his pupils, who came from countries as varied as Sweden, Spain, Venezuela and Brazil.
Works (11)
Oil on canvas painted in 1856 by Léon Cogniet, showing Maria Brignole-Sale, Duchess of Galliera, together with her son Filippo. As a portrait, the work centres on the pair and their closeness as mother and child. The available record gives no further detail on the setting, composition or symbolism, so any closer reading should be made cautiously.
Watercolour by Léon Cogniet dated 1831, showing a soldier who the title identifies as a Polish standard-bearer in Paris in 1814. It belongs to history painting, a genre that reconstructs episodes from the past. Its small format and watercolour technique, based on transparent tones, give it an intimate scale. It is held in the Wallace Collection.
This canvas by Léon Cogniet, dated 1824, depicts the Massacre of the Innocents, the episode from the Gospel of Matthew in which Herod orders the killing of the young children of Bethlehem. The record notes a monumental architectural setting, with a staircase and palace, in which soldiers, women and infants can be made out. The scene centres on violence and the grief of the mothers. Given its large format, the painting's impact rests on its scale and on the contrast between the imposing architecture and the human tragedy.
Mythological painting by Léon Cogniet, dated 1821, executed in oil on canvas on a large scale. The record identifies its protagonists as Metabus and Camilla, figures from classical mythology, though the specific episode is not described here. Without reference texts, its composition, commission and original setting cannot be detailed with confidence.
Where to see the work
- Wallace Collection London · 2
- Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans Orléans · 1
- Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City · 1
- Palace of Versailles Versailles · 1
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux Bordeaux · 1
- Musei di Strada Nuova Genoa · 1
- Louvre Museum Paris · 1
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes Rennes · 1
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Chartres Chartres · 1
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- Pierre-Narcisse Guérin 1774–1833
- Jean-Victor Bertin 1767–1842
Pupils
- Edgar Degas 1834–1917
- Rosa Bonheur 1822–1899
- Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier 1815–1891
- Jules Lefebvre 1836–1911
- Jean-Paul Laurens 1838–1921
- Léon Bonnat 1833–1922
- Pierre Auguste Cot 1837–1883
- Évariste-Vital Luminais 1821–1896
- Tony Robert-Fleury 1837–1911
- Nils Blommér 1816–1853
- Charles Louis Müller 1815–1892
- Lucien-Étienne Mélingue 1841–1889
- Sofia Adlersparre 1808–1862
- Rodolphe Julian 1839–1907
- Augustin Feyen-Perrin 1826–1888
- Wilhelm Amberg 1822–1899
- Diogene Ulyssee Napoleon Maillart 1840–1926
- Andrzej Jerzy Mniszech 1823–1905
- Carlos Esquivel y Rivas 1830–1867
Curiosities
A workshop for women
Between 1840 and 1860 he ran a popular painting workshop for women. He directed it together with his sister, the painter Marie Amélie Cogniet, and with one of his students, Catherine Caroline Thévenin, who later became his wife. At a time when few women had access to formal training, it offered them a rare route into painting.
A flag made of paint
His Scenes of July 1830 shows the day after the Three Glorious Days. The white flag of the restored monarchy is torn in the middle, revealing blue sky, while a red fold spreads to the right like a bloodstain. In this way the canvas recreates the tricolour flag of the Republic.