Edouard Hamman artwork • painting • previously for sale Le gourmand

Edouard Jean Conrad Hamman was a Belgian painter dedicated to depicting portraits and historical events from the lives of famous monarchs, artists, and scholars. He studied in Antwerp for some time and participated in many salons and exhibitions and his work sold well in noble circles. In 1846 he went to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. During a trip to Italy in 1849, he discovered the painters of the Renaissance. Between 1864 and 1866, he was commissioned by Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy, to paint a suite of six paintings depicting themes from Italian history. He was also a popular painter at the court of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. In 1863 the French state bought his 'Education of Charles V' for 4000 FF, a considerable sum at the time. The work is now in the permanent exhibition of the Musée d'Orsay.