Edmond Aman-Jean 1858-1936

The son of Edmond Joseph Jean, an industrial lime kiln owner, and Céline Élisabeth Leblanc, Edmond Aman-Jean studied under Henri Lehmann at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was also a fellow student of Georges Seurat, with whom he shared a studio, and he formed close ties with the Symbolist painters Alphonse Osbert and Alexandre Séon.

In 1886, he was awarded a travel grant and went to Italy with Henri Martin and Ernest Laurent to study the Italian Primitives, an experience that strengthened his taste for early art and decorative painting. Alongside Seurat, he worked as an assistant on Le Bois sacré by Puvis de Chavannes (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon), whose influence can be seen in particular in his Saint Geneviève (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Brest), acquired by the Parisian collector Simon Hayem.

Closely connected to Symbolist literary circles, Aman-Jean painted a portrait of Paul Verlaine at the Broussais Hospital, Verlaine à l'hôpital Broussais. The work was painted in winter, at a time when the poet was being treated there for syphilis, and stands as a testament to the friendship between the two men, which lasted from their first meeting until Verlaine’s death in 1896. Verlaine dedicated a sonnet to the artist for the portrait he so admired and stayed with Aman-Jean and his wife in the following years. Aman-Jean was among the first to respond positively to Joséphin Péladan, to whom he wrote in 1892: “You are the only person in France able to speak of Aesthetics and Art.” He exhibited at the first two Salons de la Rose+Croix esthétique.

In 1892, Edmond Aman-Jean married Thadée Jacquet in Paris, the daughter of an Imperial prefect and herself a painter. He portrayed her in several of his works, as well as their two children, François Aman-Jean and Céline Aman-Jean.

In 1900, Albert Besnard secured his appointment to the Legion of Honour. He was promoted to the rank of Commander in 1935.

Edmond Aman-Jean died in Paris on 25 January 1936.