Edouard Bisson (1856-1939)
[E. Bisson]

Pupil of:

Jean Leon Gerome

Edouard Bisson, in "La Cigale," gives another interpretation to an old fable of which we have already given versions by several different artists. In this case, they depicted the joyful and merry period of the poor grasshopper's life. Bisson deals with its tragic side. The Spring ablaze with flowers, the Summer basking in the bland beams of the sun, the Autumn fragment with its rich harvests have passed; the cruel Winter, against which the Cigale made no provision, had arrived, and her gay songs are hushed as she shivers, shelterless, in the snow. The artist is a Parisian, a pupil of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and a popular painter of sentimental and decorative subjects.

"Spring's First Flowers" is another of the decorative fancies of Edouard Bisson. The flowers are Cupidons, who have been warmed to life by the gentle atmosphere of the season.

"The Return of Spring" is painted by Edouard Bisson.

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AskArt Biography
Edouard Bisson (1856 – 1939)

Fanciful ideas and flowing line characterize Bisson’s studies of graceful feminine types. Distinguished by a certain charm, they agree with Delacroix that “the first quality in a picture is to be a delight for the eyes.”

Born in Paris in 1856, Bisson studied art under one of the most successful of French artists, Jean Leon Gerome. He exhibited regularly at the Salon of French Artists of which he was a member. He was awarded Honorable Mentions in 1881 and 1889, a Third Class Medal in 1897, and a Bronze Medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900. In 1908 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

The artist continued to exhibit his works until his death in 1939; however he always saw himself as a painter of the period around 1900; “The Fin de Siecle,” when he developed his own interpretation of feminine beauty.

[Primary biographical information provided by Benezit. Submitted by Edward Bentley, researcher of Lansing, Michigan]