Max Leenhardt

The grave of Max Leenhardt in the family grave on the Cimetière protestant in Montpellier.

Michel Maximilien Leenhardt , called Max Leenhardt , (born April 2, 1853 in Montpellier , Hérault department , † May 15, 1941 in Clapiers , Hérault department) was a French painter.

Life

Leenhardt came from a wealthy family with Swiss roots. His father was a banker in Montpellier. His older cousin, the painter Eugène Burnand (1850–1921), said he was a role model in choosing a career.

Together with his cousin Burnand he went to Paris , where he became a student of Alexandre Cabanel at the École des Beaux-Arts (EBA). Later he went on several study trips - also with Burnand - they roamed Normandy for a few weeks and also stayed for some time in the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel .

Also together with his cousin Burnand, Leenhardt went on a study trip to and through Austria after the death of his father in 1872 . In addition to these trips together, Leenhardt and Bunand also often worked together; Their best-known collaboration was the design of the Le Train Bleu restaurant around 1900 for the World Exhibition in Paris .

In 1890 Leenhardt married Marie Castan (1867-1893), a daughter of the physician Alfred Castan (1836-1891), in his hometown, and had two sons with her: Jean (1891-1967) and Georges (1893-1982). He settled in Montpellier and also opened a large studio.

Max Leenhardt died in Clapiers in 1941. He found his final resting place in the family grave in the Protestant cemetery of Montpellier.

Works (selection)

Book illustration

• Michel Leiris : Gens de la grande terre . 1938.
• Présences . Plon, Paris 1945.

Oil painting

• Déjeuner sur l'herbe d'étudiants devant la cathédrale de Maguelone . 1884.
• Vue de Montpellier from Castries . 1920.
• Fuite des protestants à la révocation de l ' Edit de Nanntes en 1685 .

Portraits

• Portrait de Alfred Castan . 1890.
• Portrait de Joseph Marie Eugène Grasset . 1920.
• Portrait de Georges Rauzier .

Honors

• The Place Max Leenhardt in Clapiers ( Arrondissement Montpellier ) was named after him
• The Rue Leenhardt in Montpellier was also named after him

literature

• Louise Gaggini et al. a .: Le train bleu . Plus Éditions, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-908557-01-0 .
• Philippe Kaenel: Eugène Burnand. Le peinture d'apres nature, 1850–1921 . Éditions Cabedita, Yens-sur-Morges 2006, ISBN 2-88295-469-7 , p. 108.
• Montpellier - Rétrospective Max Leenhardt (1853-1941) . Musée Fabre, Montpellier 1977 (catalog of the exhibition of the same name, May 31 to June 30, 1977).