Amélie Munier-Romilly
Amélie Romilly-Munier (born March 21, 1788 in Geneva , † February 12, 1875 in Geneva) was a Swiss painter .
Life
Jeanne-Louise-Amélie Romilly was born to Pierre-Paul Romilly, a watchmaker, and Suzanne Magnin. Due to the loss of her father at the age of 13, she had to make a contribution to the family income as a saleswoman in a small shop. Around 1805 she became a student of the portrait painter Firmin Massot , who taught her the techniques of pastel and oil painting . He finally encouraged her to complete her training in Paris and at the same time to look for a job there. In Paris she met François-Gédéon Reverdin, through whom she made the acquaintance of artists such as Horace Vernet and François Gérard . She also painted a number of portraits in his studio , which were exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1814 .
Back in Geneva, she taught young students and became increasingly famous for her portraits. Well-known personalities such as Madame de Stael and the French actor François-Joseph Talma were her models. In 1815 she was elected honorary member of the Société des Arts in Geneva. In the following years she exhibited regularly in Geneva, Bern , Paris, Lyon and London . In 1830 she was awarded the gold medal for her exhibition in Bern.
In her portraits she used a wide variety of techniques such as charcoal , pastel and oil painting, as well as lithography and watercolor . Especially portraits of children made a significant contribution to their popularity. In addition to portraits that show an ideal bourgeoisie full of harmony and family happiness, she also depicted scenes in which she denounced social inequalities .
In the course of her activity she painted thousands of pictures, many of which, however, have no longer survived. Five thousand drawings with oil and pastel portraits alone have disappeared in notebooks. The surviving works are now mainly in the hands of private collectors in Geneva. The Musée d'art et d'histoire there also owns ten paintings that are characteristic of the artist's work.
She was married to the pastor and later professor of theology at the University of Geneva , David François Munier . The couple had four children together.
Honors
In Geneva, a street in her honor is called Rue Munier-Romilly . She is one of the few in town to be named after a woman.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Valérie Louzier-Gentaz: Munier-Romilly, Jeanne-Louise-Amélie [Romilly, Amélie . ] In: Sikart (French)
- ↑ a b Erica Deuber Ziegler: Les femmes dans la mémoire de Genève: du XVe au XXe siècle . S. Hurter, 2005.
- ↑ a b Rue MUNIER-ROMILLY | Noms geographiques du canton de Genève. Retrieved April 30, 2020 (French).
- ↑ Valérie Louzier-Gentaz: Amélie Munier-Romilly. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Munier-Romilly, Amélie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Munier-Romilly, Jeanne-Louise-Amélie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 21, 1788 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Geneva |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1875 |
| Place of death | Geneva |