Luc Olivier Merson

Artist

Luc-Olivier Merson

Luc-Olivier Merson (1846-1920) was an artist from Paris, France, known primarily for his postage stamp designs. He grew up in a creative Parisian family and later studied art at the École des Dessins and the École des Beaux-Arts. His symbolist paintings were exhibited in both Paris and Rome. He then spent three years in Italy, focusing on religious and historical paintings of saints and Catholicism .

Luc-Olivier Melson Biography

• Born May 21, 1846 in Paris, France
• Studied at the Ecole des Dessins and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
• In 1869, he won the Prix de Rome and studied in Italy.
• In the 1870s, he produced religious and historical paintings.
• Since the 1880s, he has also designed stamps and banknotes.
• Died in Paris on November 13, 1920 (aged 74)

Representative works

• Painting:

  • The Coronation of the Virgin
  • "The Life of Saint Genevieve"
  • The Adoration of the Shepherds

• Stamp Design:

  • French stamp "Sowing Peace" (Le Semeur)
  • Monaco stamp "Portrait of Prince Albert I of Monaco"

Melson's style and achievements

Merson's work is characterized by a fusion of the solid technique he has acquired through his academic art education and symbolic elements. His religious and historical paintings, with their detailed depictions and dramatic compositions, deeply affect the viewer.

He also showed his talent in designing stamps and banknotes, and his beautiful designs are still highly regarded today. In particular, his "Sowing the Seeds of Peace" is widely known as one of France's most representative stamps .

Merson was a multidisciplinary artist, illustrator and designer whose work occupies an important place in the history of French art.