John Genin was born in Lyon, France and studied with the noted academic portrait painter, Leon Bonnat, in Paris. Active in New Orleans from 1860 until his death, he was a member of the Southern Art Union, and painted historical and genre subjects, but was primarily known for portraiture. His portrait work reflects the influence of photography and is executed in a polished academic realist style, which is also apparent in his approach to landscape subjects of Mississippi and Louisiana. The extant body of identifiable work by Genin is quite small.

Genin did not abandon the formative influence of French academic painting before coming to America. He made periodic trips back to his homeland and maintained ties to the French academi...