Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier French, 1815-1891

Meissonier, a painter, sculptor and illustrator, is best known for his military canvases, particularly his series depicting the campaigns of Napoleon I. Perhaps as early as 1848, Meissonier began to make sculptures. These were preliminary studies for his painted compositions and were modelled in wax over an internal skeleton and often incorporated cloth, leather and metal. None of these sculptures were exhibited or cast in bronze in Meisonnier's lifetime.

Eleven waxes owned by Meissonier's son and daughter were exhibited at Galerie Georges Petit, after the death of their father. After the success of the exhibition, the children approached the founder Siot-Decauville who edited bronze versions of the models in 1894.

Meissonier was an important figure in the Parisian art world; he led the jury which excluded Courbet from the Salon in 1872, he was President of the Société des Beaux Arts, and president of the jury for Exposition Universelle Internationale in Paris in 1889. Meissonier was also the first artist to receive the Grand-croix of the Légion d'Honneur.

A bronze Cheval au Trot edited by Siot-Decauville is in the Museé Bordeaux. 

RELATED LITERATURE
Kjellberg, pp. 467-468; Lami, vol. 4, pp. 422-423