Portrait of Emile Munier

Emile Munier Painting Reproductions 1 of 1

1810-1895

French Academic Classicism Painter

Emile Munier (June 2, 1840 - June 29, 1895) was a French academic artist and student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Emile Munier was born in Paris on June 2, 1840 and lived with his family at 66 rue des Fosses, St. Marcel. His father, Pierre Francois Munier, was an artist upholsterer at the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins and his mother, Marie Louise Carpentier, was a polisher in a cashmere cloth mill.

Emile had two brothers, Francois and Florimond, all of whom were gifted artists and each spent some time at the Gobelins. During Emile's training he developed a close relationship with his professor Abel Lucas and his family. He eventually married Abel's daughter Henriette.

During the 1860s, Emile received three medals at the Beaux-Arts and in 1869 he exhibited at the Paris Salon. Munier became a great supporter of the Academic ideals and a follower of Bouguereau, whose subject matter would be an important inspiration to the young Emile.

In 1867, Henriette gave birth to a son, Emile Henri. Six weeks after the birth, having contracted severe rheumatism, Henriette died prematurely. In 1871, Munier abandoned his career as an upholsterer and devoted his time solely to painting; he also began teaching classes to adults three nights a week.

Sargine Augrand, a student of Abel Lucas and a close friend of Emile and Henriette (before she died), caught Emile's eye; they married in 1872 and lived in a small apartment and studio.

Emile Munier frequented the studio of Bouguereau, to whom he was well liked and appreciated.

In 1885 he painted, and exhibited at the Paris Salon, Trois Amis (Favourite Pets). This painting, representing a chubby girl playing on her bed with a kitten and a dog, was an extremely successful work, being reproduced in many forms and used for publicity posters by Pears Soap. With this work, Emile asserted himself as one of ‘the' painters of young children and their pets; it was eventually acquired by an American collector.

Among his many American patrons were Chapman H. Hyams and his wife, who were important collectors of contemporary French paintings during the 19th century and favored artists like Henner, Bouguereau, Gerome, Vinel and Schreyer. Munier painted their portrait in 1889, and it, along with much of their collection, is now in the New Orleans Museum of Art.

During the 1890s Munier continued to paint peasant, mythological and religious subjects. In 1893 he exhibited L'esprit de la chute d'eau, at the Paris Salon, a nude nymph whom is not unlike Naissance de Venus by Bouguereau.

In 1895 Munier painted La jeune fille et le panier de chatons, but on June 29, a few weeks after his 55th birthday, he died.

3 Emile Munier Paintings

The Morning Meal, 1880 by Emile Munier | Painting Reproduction

The Morning Meal 1880

Oil Painting
$1642
Canvas Print
$62.39
SKU: MUE-8343
Emile Munier
Original Size: 66.9 x 55.8 cm
Private Collection

Portrait of Marie-Louise, 1880 by Emile Munier | Painting Reproduction

Portrait of Marie-Louise 1880

Oil Painting
$1344
Canvas Print
$62.46
SKU: MUE-8344
Emile Munier
Original Size: 46.3 x 54 cm
Private Collection

The Prayer, 1881 by Emile Munier | Painting Reproduction

The Prayer 1881

Oil Painting
$1723
Canvas Print
$53.10
SKU: MUE-8345
Emile Munier
Original Size: 50 x 42.5 cm
Private Collection

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