Identity:

François-Edouard Picot was a painter and lithographer.

Life:

Picot, a pupil of François-André Vincent and Jacques-Louis David, was awarded the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1811. Specialising in neoclassical history and genre subjects and in portraits, he showed at the Salon until 1839, receiving numerous awards. He was commissioned to decorate many significant public buildings, including the Louvre, where he designed two ceiling decorations, Study and Genius Unveiling Ancient Egypt to Greece (1827) and Cybele Protecting the Towns of Stabiae, Herculaneum, Pompeii and Resina against Vesuvius (1832). Picot was also one of the early pioneers in lithography, executing works such as Bélisaire for Le Miroir. In 1836 he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Picot's pupils included William Bouguereau, Jean-Jacques Henner and Alexandre Cabanel. In July 1863 Henri Fantin-Latour made mention of the students of Picot, whose works had been accepted at the Salon, to JW, condescendingly referring to them as allies of the establishment (#01078).

Bibliography:

Leoussi, Athena S. E., 'François-Edouard Picot', The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy, http://www.groveart.com (accessed 26 February 2003).