Louis Antoine Leon Riesener (paris 1808-1878) 2 Drawings

"FIGURE D'EVE" Sanguine on tracing paper pasted on leaf. He says "Riesener" in the lower left. 25 x 21 cm. Spots

LOUIS ANTOINE LEON RIESENER Born in a dynasty of artists, was born on January 21, 1808 in Paris. His grandfather, Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806), was "ordinary cabinetmaker of the Crown" and his father Henri-François a recognized portrait painter. He is also the cousin of Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), who was for him a model and an important support throughout his career. Teenager again, Leon Riesener takes his first drawing lessons with his father then enters the workshop of Baron Gros (1771-1835). He exhibited at the Salon from 1831 large naturalistic paintings and obtained a third class medal in 1836 through works such as "Flora" and "A Bacchante" that will make his reputation as a painter mythological nudes. During his career, however, he tries all genres in painting, including landscapes and portraits that are the most important part of his production. He paints in particular a series of pastel portraits of his relatives, many of whom will appear in the Salon of 1850-51. He died in Paris, in his house of the Cours la Reine, on May 25, 1878.