Édouard Detaille

In 1865 Meissonier (q.v.) was asked to give a recommendation for Édouard Detaille, then seventeen years old, to apprentice with Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). After seeing Detaille's portfolio, however, Meissonier himself accepted him as a student. Detaille received a thorough training, and the same precision that defined the work of his teacher would soon characterize Detaille as an artist. He made his debut at the Salon as early as 1867 with the Interior of Meissonier's Studio, but his reputation was firmly established at the Salon of 1869, when he received his first medal for A Rest...