Henri Gervex

Born September 10, 1852 in the former commune of Montmartre and died June 6, 1929 in Paris, is a French famous painter and pastelist. He was the son of Joséphine Peltier and Félix Nicolas Gervex, a piano maker. When he was 15, a friend of the family helped him get admitted to the atelier of Pierre-Nicolas Brisset. In 1871 he was accepted into the École des Beaux-Arts in the studio of Alexandre Cabanel, where he studied for five years. He also apprenticed himself to the Orientalist painter Eugène Fromentin.

In 1876, he met Édouard Manet and frequented Impressionist painters. His Rolla of 1878, based on a poem by Alfred de Musset, was rejected by the jury of the Salon de Paris for immorality.

In 1882, he made his first trip to England with Auguste Rodin. The following year he made his second trip to England with Rodin and was named a knight of the Order of Leopold of Belgium at the Ghent Triennial Fine Arts Exhibition. In 1884 he traveled to Italy with Guy de Maupassant and G. Legrand.

He founded a painting academy with the painter Ferdinand Humbert. In 1889, he was promoted to officer of the Legion of Honor. In 1891 he participated in the Munich International Fine Arts Exhibition.
On February 9, 1893, he married Henriette Fauche, his servant, for a second marriage.
On December 18, 1894, his daughter Colette Gervex was born, who would become the Countess of Argenté. In 1895 he was appointed vice-chairman of the National Society of Fine Arts Review Commission. In 1896, on his first trip to Russia, he was appointed Commander of the Order of St. Anne of Russia.

In 1898, he made a second trip to Russia. He sent The Coronation of Nicholas II to the Universal Exhibition of 1900.
In 1918, he received the Croix de Guerre for service to the Fatherland. In 1925, he was elected associate member of the painting section of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Brussels.

He died in Paris on June 6, 1929 and was buried in Père-Lachaise cemetery.