Achilles Theodore Cesbron

Achilles Theodore Cesbron

(1849-1913)

Achille Theodore Cesbron was a 19^th century French painter of still life scenes and flowers. He was a pupil of Leon Bonnat and Fernand Cormon and exhibited annually at the Paris Salon from 1877. His talents were quickly recognised and he was awarded an honourable mention in 1882 and further prestigious awards in 1884, 1886 and 1900. He was also awarded a prize at the 1889 World Fair in Paris. In 1898 he was decorated with the Legion d’Honneur, an award handed to him by the academician painter, William Bouguereau.

Now widely celebrated as a ‘master in the art of the flower’, Cesbron collaborated with Georges Jeannin – another famous flower painter – on several projects, including the Salon du Passage for the Hotel de Ville in Paris. Cesbron was also commissioned to transform the house of the artist Francois-Louis French in Plombières into a public municipal museum. His love for flowers and the natural world led Cesbron to establish one of the first flower gardens in Paris, at Porte d’Auteuil and with the support of local councillers, he made a bid to set up a new artistic academy, with the aim of providing a free education specialising in painting flowers and plants.

In a posthumous tribute to his work, a retrospective exhibition took place at rue Volney in Paris from the 5^th to the 31^st May, 1913. Cesbron’s works are now held in several important public collections in France, including the municipal museums of Châteaudun, Nevers and Nantes, the Museum of Fine Art in Angers and the Musee des arts decoratifs and the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Museums:

Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

Musee de Angers

Musee de Gray

Musee de Mulhouse