Charles Meynier was a recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1789 and became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1815. A history painter, he created the grand decoration for ceilings of the Louvre (1819 and 1822), and produced numerous pictures glorifying the Napoleonic legend, which for the most part remain in the château de Versailles. Through the assistance of his brother Meynier Saint-Phal, a famous actor of the Comédie Française who paid for his studies, the artist entered the atelier of the painter François André Vincent (1746-1816), a principal rival of the master Jacques-Louis David. The studio in which Meynier received his training was known by the students of David as the atelier of the"perruques," (the wigs) the name given to royalists or conservatives during that period.
Works
- Nymphs of Parthenope
- Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul
- Entry of Napoleon I into Berlin, 27th October 1806
- Triumph of French Painting: Apotheosis of Poussin, Le Sueur and Le Brun
- France, under the guise of Minerva, Protecting the Arts
- Clio, Muse of History
- Alexander the Great Giving Campaspe to Apelles
- The Earth receiving from the emperors Hadrian and Justinian the codex of Roman law dictated by Nature, Justice and Wisdom.
- Napoleon's Return to the Island of Lobau After the Battle of Essling
- Marshal Ney hands over their flags to the soldiers of the 76th Line Regiment, November 7, 1805
- Michel Ney
- The soldiers of the 76th line find their flags in Innsbruck arsenal
- Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence; Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry; Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry, and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy; Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry; Clio, Muse of History
- Telemachus, Urged by Mentor, Leaving the Island of Calypso
- Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry
- Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence
- Clio, Muse of History
- Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry, and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy
- Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry
- Erato, Muse of Lyrical Poetry
- Apollo, God of Light, Eloquence, Poetry and the Fine Arts with Urania, Muse of Astronomy
- Wisdom Defending Youth from the Arrows of Love
- The Nymphs of Parthenope Led toward the Banks of the Seine
- Love is the Same for All (Amor Omnibus Idem)
