Michel Maximilien Leenhardt

Michel Maximilien Leenhardt (2 April 1853, Montpellier – 15 May 1941, Clapiers) was a French painter, known for landscapes, history paintings and genre scenes.

Biography His father was a bank manager. In 1872, he entered the "", where he studied with the history and genre painter. During his time there, he made a study trip to Austria. In 1877, together with his cousin, Eugène Burnand, he went to Paris, where he studied briefly at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts with Alexandre Cabanel.

Following that, he travelled throughout Normandy, visiting Mont Saint Michel, and Brittany. Upon returning home, he executed portraits of the professors from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Montpellier. He began exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1879 and would be a regular participant there until 1936.

He continued travelling in 1880-1881; across the continent to the Eastern Mediterranean, spending some time in Istanbul, then passing through Cairo and Piraeus. During his stay in Istanbul, he became friends with the Ottoman painter, Osman Hamdi Bey. In 1882, he made it to the second tier in the competition for the Prix de Rome. Many of his works draw their inspiration from the history of Protestantism in France. He also did some illustrations, notably for Gens de la Grande Terre by Michel Leiris and, as did most French artists of that period, designed posters.

He died during the German Occupation and was buried at the Protestant Cemetery in Montpellier. The following year, a major retrospective was held at the Musée Fabre. A plaza and a street near his studio have been named after him.

Selected paintings