Émile-René Ménard was born in Paris in 1862. The artist studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and in the studio of William Bouguereau at the Académie Julian. His early landscapes in Barbizon and Normandy were inspired by his family’s friendships with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Charles-François Daubigny and Jean-François Millet, who often visited his family's home. He participated in the Salon of the Secession in Munich, and the Salon de la Libre Esthétique in Brussels. In 1904 he was appointed professor at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere.

Ménard's work is many collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Musée d'Orsay, Paris; Louvre, Paris; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.