Life of St. Genevieve 

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes created the oil painting, ‘Life of St. Genevieve.’ Puvis de Chavannes applied thin layers of paint to achieve a fresco-like effect in this monumental painting. The pale colors and simplified forms contribute to the painting's serene and timeless quality, characteristic of his distinctive style. The painting depicts a scene from the life of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, as she arrives by boat to bring relief to the city. The painting's subdued palette and flattened perspective reflect a deliberate departure from the highly illusionistic and academic painting styles prevalent at the time. Instead, Puvis de Chavannes embraced a more decorative and symbolic approach, emphasizing the expressive qualities of line, color, and form. Consider the labor involved in preparing the canvas, grinding pigments, and applying countless layers of paint to achieve the desired effect, not to mention the workers involved in the physical transport of the materials and the installation of the work itself! These elements invite us to consider the social and economic context in which the artwork was created, challenging traditional notions of artistic genius.