Born in the village of St. Marcellin, Hugues Merle was a sensitive genre painter of great talent whose paintings of the simple, noble lives of the working class won him international recognition. After studying with Leon Cogniet at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he embarked on a series of paintings depicting historical themes including The Assassination of Henry the III, which was acquired by the French government in 1863 for exhibition at the Musee de Pau. Thereafter he was accorded a regular place at the Salon where he submitted paintings from 1847 until 1880. Well-known for depictions with a sentimental spirit, Merle remains important; his best-known work, The Mendicant, now hangs in the Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
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