Georges Michel

French (1763-1843)

The son of a market employee at Les Halles, Paris, Georges Michel was befriended by a farmer general named M. de Chalue, and in 1775 he began an apprenticeship with the history painter and professor at the Academy of Saint-Luc, Leduc. During the same period he was also painting and sketching in the open air. From 1800 he worked at the Louvre as a restorer of Flemish and Dutch paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael and Meindert Hobbema, all of which had a decisive impact on his own work. Michel painted around Paris, including Montmartre and the plains of Saint-Denis. He became increasingly interested in the dramatic use of light and shade, and his mature work is characterized by stormy skies, broad brushstrokes and vivid contrasts.

Michel’s paintings are in the collections of many important institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago, Hermitage Museum, Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts and National Gallery in London.