Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Born in Lyon in 1924, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was an important representative of Symbolism in the 19th century. In Paris between 1846 and 1848 he visited the studio of Henry Scheffer and Eugène Delacroix, where he was trained. He spent a year in Italy and continued his training with Thomas Couture. His style was very much influenced by Chassériau. In 1850 he exhibited at the Salon for the first time, but he did not find acceptance until 1859. In 1890 he founded the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts with Rodin and Meissonier. His best-known works are frescoes executed in Paris, in the Panthéon, the Sorbonne and the Hotel de Ville. He died in 1898 in Paris.