Charles Merion ( FR. Charles Meryon ; November 23, 1821 , Paris - February 13, 1868 , Charenton-le-Pont, department of Val-de-Marne ) - French artist and engraver.
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Content
Biography
Charles Merion (Charles Méryon) was born in Paris on November 23, 1821. The illegitimate son of an opera dancer from Paris and the British physician Charles Lewis Merion [6] , he graduated from the school of naval officers, which he entered in 1837. On the ships of Algeria, and after Montebello, he visited Algeria , Tunisia , Smyrna , Athens , Argos ; aboard the corvette "Rhine" sailed to the shores of New Zealand , New Caledonia , Oceania . During this last trip, struck by the views of New Zealand, addicted to painting. In 1847, he left the fleet for health reasons with the rank of lieutenant and remained in Paris to devote himself to painting. “Perhaps this will make me unhappy, but if I act differently, I will regret the rest of my life,” he wrote. He studied at the Louvre , copying the works of Jacques-Louis David , Dutch artists. Having discovered that he is color blind , he turned to the engraving, which he studied under the guidance of his friend - the engraver Eugene Bleury, who taught him etching techniques . For printing, Merion preferred 18th century greenish paper, thin Dutch and colored Japanese paper. “My visual impairment is such that I prefer the beauty of black and white engravings with their gradation of gray to the bright colors of paintings,” the artist admitted [7] . He made friends with the graphic artist and impressionist painter Felix Brakmon, who left his portrait.
In 1858, Merion had the first episode of depression, and he was placed in a Charenton shelter. After the crisis, he again returns to etching, but his work loses its former luster. In 1861, he worked at the Paris Etching Fund, but his condition worsened. Merion ended his life in the Charenton shelter on February 13, 1868, where he was placed as a result of a serious mental disorder ( depression , hallucinations , persecution mania ) at the age of 46 years [7] .
Legacy and recognition
Etchings dedicated to Paris, created in 1850-1854, are the most significant of Merion’s works (researchers speak of “Merion Paris”). Hugo , Baudelaire , Van Gogh , Pierre Jean Juve admired his etchings with views of Paris . Victor Hugo, himself a wonderful draftsman, wrote to Baudelaire: “Since you are familiar with Merion, tell him that his etchings with their chiaroscuro, radiance and darkness completely blinded me.”
Memory
In the village of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region on the South Island of New Zealand, Charles Merion is a monument.
Literature
- The catalog raisonné of the prints of Charles Meryon / Richard S. Schneiderman, ed. London: Garton & Co. in Association with Scolar Press, 1990.
- Collins R. Charles Meryon: a life. Devizes: Garton, 1999
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 BNF identifier : Open Data Platform 2011.
- ↑ Charles Meryon
- ↑ 1 2 Benezit Dictionary of Artists - 2006. - ISBN 978-0-19-977378-7 , 978-0-19-989991-3
- ↑ artist list of the National Museum of Sweden - 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 118783440 // General regulatory control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ Web Gallery of Art, searchable fine arts image database . www.wga.hu. Date of treatment December 12, 2015.
- ↑ 1 2 Charles Meryon peintre daltonien . SNOF. Date of treatment December 12, 2015.