Not many art enthusiasts, or even art critics, have been aware of the existence of a painter named Fernand Cormon, born in Paris on December 22, 1845.

While still a teenager he presented, in 1863, his paintings and a large number of paper drawings at Salon de Paris, the most honoured art event of the era. He lost no time attracting the attention of experts who considered him talented enough to attend the legendary Jean-François Portaels art workshop in Brussels, without having to pay any charges.

Once in Brussels, his progress was rapid. Only seven years later, at age 25, he was officially named Painter of the Republic of France. From then on, Cormon’s achievements would be spectacular and unstoppable.

He was continuously offered numerous artistic honours and, in 1874, was awarded a gold medal for his oil painting Murder in Seraglio, preserved today at the Museum of Fine Arts in Besançon, a hilly town in eastern France, close to the Swiss border.

A much-admired but now-forgotten French genius, Fernand Cormon, is being given his due on his 100th death anniversary

Now that Cormon’s name has once again come into the limelight after a century of silence, the masterpiece is being greatly admired by experts as well as visited by the public in Besançon.

Cormon continued winning distinctions year after year at the Universal Art Exhibition of Paris and similar events in a number of other French and European cities. But, as if sick and tired of his own repetitive successes, he abruptly stopped taking part in art competitions and devoted almost a year exclusively to the creation of a monumental canvas that he named Travels of Caïn, inspired by Victor Hugo’s collection of poems — titled Legend of the Centuries — depicting the history and evolution of humanity.

Cormon’s huge painting, finalised in 1880, shows the figure of Caïn who, according to the Biblical fable, was condemned to wander around the earth with his family forever and ever, after having murdered his own brother Abel.

The revolutionary chef d’oeuvre was once again instantly purchased by the French government and Cormon was awarded the distinction of the Knight of the Legion of Honour, the youngest winner of the title in French history. Less than a year later, he was given the colossal responsibility for redecorating entirely the Museum of Natural History in Paris.

It would not be beyond the subject to mention here that Cormon, though totally forgotten as years passed by, inspired a number of younger generation artists who later became world celebrities, such as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, to name only a few among so many others.

Orsay, Besançon and many other French museums that have preserved the rare Fernand Cormon works have devoted this year until March 20, the day of his death in 1924, to celebrate the life and achievements of this forgotten genius.

Rare works of Fernand Cormon are on display at the Orsay Museum in Paris and the Museum of Fine Arts, Besançon till March 20, 2024

The writer is an art critic based in Paris. He can be reached at zafmasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 18th, 2024