Charles Gleyre

Charles Gleyre painted calm, classical scenes with smooth finish and soft, twilight colour: mythological figures, Greek subjects and poetic allegories. He worked slowly and carefully, and his best known picture, Lost Illusions (1843), shows an ageing poet watching a boat of maidens slip away at dusk.

He was born in Chevilly, Switzerland, in 1806, grew up in Lyon and trained in Paris. From 1834 to 1838 he travelled in the eastern Mediterranean, bringing back Orientalist studies. In 1843 he took over Paul Delaroche’s studio, and as a teacher he influenced Monet, Renoir, Sisley and Whistler, never charging his students fees. He died in Paris in 1874.

Diana and Le Coucher de Sapho show his cool, idealised treatment of the figure.