Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin

Henri-Jean Guillaume "Henri" Martin (ɑ̃ʁi ʒɑ̃ ɡijom maʁtɛ̃; 5 August 1860 – 12 November 1943) was a French painter. Elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1917, he is known for his early 1920s work on the walls of the Salle de l'Assemblée générale, where the members of the Conseil d'État meet in the Palais-Royal in Paris. Other notable institutions that have featured his Post-Impressionist paintings in their halls through public procurement include the Élysée Palace, Sorbonne, Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Palais de Justice de Paris, as well as Capitole de Toulouse, although the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux and Musée des Augustins also have sizeable public collections. Born at 127 Grande-Rue Saint-Michel in Toulouse to a French cabinet maker and a mother of Italian descent, Martin successfully persuaded his father to permit him to become an artist. He began his career in 1877 at the Toulouse School of the Fine Arts, where he was under the tutelage of Jules Garipuy; he was also a pupil of Henry-Eugène Delacroix. During his time at the School of Fine Arts, he met Marie-Charlotte Barbaroux, whom he married in 1881. In 1879, Martin relocated to Paris and with the help of a municipal scholarship, was able to study in Jean-Paul Laurens's studio. Four years later, he received his first medal at the Paris Salon, where he would hold his first exhibition three years later in 1886. The year after he won his first medal, Martin was awarded a scholarship for a tour in Italy, where he studied the work of veterans such as Giotto and Masaccio alongside Edmond Aman-Jean and Ernest Laurent. His 1889 canvas submission to the Salon earned him the gold medal for work that has been described as Pointillist. In 1896 he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour, before being promoted to the rank of officer in 1905 and commander in 1914. At the 1900 World Fair, he was awarded the Grand Prize for his work. During this period, he became friends with Auguste Rodin.