Antoine BERJON (1754 -1843) Hollyhocks In A Glass Pitcher

Oil on paper, mounted on canvas. 31.3 × 24 cm. Twice signed in ink on the right-hand side.

Antoine Berjon grew up in the Vaise district of Lyon. He began his career working alongside his father, a butcher, before turning to medical studies. He later trained in drawing under the sculptor Perrache in Lyon. Berjon also worked as a designer in a silk manufacturing workshop and soon turned to painting. His frequent business trips to Paris allowed him to meet many artists, including the portraitist Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin, with whom he developed a close friendship.

The silk factory where he worked was destroyed during the Siege of Lyon (1793), prompting him to settle in Paris, where he lived in poverty for several years. After a late return to Lyon, he worked for an embroidery manufacturer before being appointed professor of flower painting at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. He held this position until 1823, when he was succeeded by Augustin Alexandre Thierriat.

He exhibited at the Paris Salon on multiple occasions, notably in 1791, 1798, 1799, 1804, 1810, 1817, 1819, and 1842. In 1819, he was awarded the silver medal. In 1796, he presented in Paris an engraving made using a technique he had invented himself.

In addition to his still lifes, floral and fruit compositions, and miniatures—executed in oil or pastel—Berjon left behind a large collection of watercolors, ink washes, and chalk drawings on tinted paper. He was also recognized as a portraitist and painted numerous animals, floral designs for textiles and decorations, as well as costume designs for the theater.