Luc-Olivier Merson was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 and currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 designs.

Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artistic household, the son of Charles-Olivier Merson, a painter and art critic. He studied under Gustave Chassevent at the École de Dessin and then Isidore Pils

Isidore Pils

Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils was a French painter.Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Lethière for four years...

 at the École des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...

. Merson had his first work exhibited at the Paris Salon

Paris Salon

The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...

 in 1866 and three years later was awarded the Prix de Rome

Prix de Rome

The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...

. During the five years spent working in Italy, he concentrated on religious and historical subjects for his art.

Back in France, in 1875 he won the first-prize medal at the exhibition by the Société des artistes français

Société des artistes français

The Société des Artistes Français is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the Salon....

. "Nôtre-Dame de Paris," one of Merson's best known paintings, was created in 1881 as a result of the huge popularity of the Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

 novel of the same name. With its mystical Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 imagery, its style reflects the influence of the then evolving Symbolist

Symbolism (arts)

Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...

 movement.

Merson did major decorative commissions for such institutions as the Palais de Justice, the Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...

 Museum, and the mosaic in the chancel vault in the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica , is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city...

. He also did the artwork for stained glass windows, an example of which can be found in the Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square

Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia

Church of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal church on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first service in the church building, designed by Scottish architect John Notman, was held on March 27, 1859. The corner tower was added in 1867 and was designed by George W...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. His profile was raised considerably after being awarded a gold medal for his painting at the 1889 Exposition Universelle

Exposition Universelle (1889)

The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...

, and in 1892 he was elected to the Académie des beaux-arts

Académie des beaux-arts

The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...

.

By 1900 Merson was designing postage stamps for the French post and the Monaco post. By 1908 he had been contracted by the Bank of France

Banque de France

The Banque de France is the central bank of France; it is linked to the European Central Bank . Its main charge is to implement the interest rate policy of the European System of Central Banks...

 to create a number of designs for some of the country's banknotes. Between 1906 and 1911, Luc-Olivier Merson taught at the École des Beaux-Arts. In recognition of his contribution to French culture, Luc-Olivier Merson was awarded the Legion of Honor. Also during this period, it is reported that Merson held under his tutelage French painter Henri Alphonse Barnoin

Henri Alphonse Barnoin

Henri Alphonse Barnoin Although he initially studied with Luc-Olivier Merson, it was his second teacher, Emile Dameron, who became a more significant influence on his artistic style, attracting Barnoin to Impressionism...

.
Luc-Olivier Merson died in Paris in 1920, his work largely forgotten as a result of the overwhelming popularity of the avant-garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

 art forms as seen in the works of the Impressionists and other artists movements. Named as a Knight of the Legion of Honor during his life, he was elevated to the level of Commander posthumously. His last known living relative is thought to be Zac Merson, certified B.A.