Portraits de famille

Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner

Jean-Jacques Henner's family occupies an essential place in his work. After the death of his father, Georges Guillaume Henner, his relatives showed him unwavering support and accompanied him throughout his career. Beyond material assistance, they also contributed to his artistic training: it was by painting their portraits that Henner explored, and then perfected, this genre to which he would remain deeply attached. Depicted at different stages of their lives, the members of his family were his first models, but also his last. This abundance of portraits testifies to the strength of the bonds uniting Henner to his family, true pillars and a source of inspiration throughout his life. The portraits of the members [of Jean-Jacques Henner's family], reproduced twenty times over by his devoted hands […] sufficiently attest to the place always held in his heart by his mother, his sister Marie-Anne, his brother Grégoire, and above all his brother Séraphin, his wife and their children. If Henner's art is the work of his vocation, Henner himself is the work of his family. Samuel Rocheblave, « La jeunesse d'Henner », Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, 10 mars 190[?]

Source: Paris Open Data ↗