A Painter

Ernest Meissonier rendered this carefully detailed scene of an artist at work in 1855. The painter, dressed in 18th-century costume, works on a small canvas depicting a mythological subject. Every element is rendered with the miniaturist precision for which Meissonier was famous.

Meissonier was celebrated for his astonishing technical skill, with critics examining his paintings under magnifying glasses to marvel at the detail. His historical genre scenes commanded enormous prices in his lifetime. It hangs at the Cleveland Museum of Art.