HENRY GUILLAUME SCHLESINGER
(French 1814-1893)

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Henry Guillaume Schlesinger, was born Wilhelm Heinrich Schlesinger in 1814 in Frankfurt, Germany. He began his artistic training at the Vienna Academy of Fine Art, later moving to Paris for further study. Much of his life was spent in Paris and he eventually adopted French nationality in 1870. He exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1840 to 1889, winning two medals in 1840 and 1847.

While visiting Istanbul early in his career, Schlesinger was commissioned to paint portraits for the Sultan Mahmud II in 1837. Schlesinger painted the Sultan in a large equestrian portrait, one in Western style clothing (not in the Topkapi Palace Museum), and one that was gifted to King Louis-Philippe by the Turkish Ambassador to France (now at Versailles). Schlesinger was a frequent visitor to the Sultan’s court which provided the artist with subjects for his Orientalist paintings upon his return to France. Schlesinger was best known for his elegant portrayals of women in gardens and interiors, as well as for his miniatures and watercolours. Many of his genre scened were made into prints further spreading his popularity.

In 1865 at the Salon, Schlesinger exhibited a set of five canvases, Les Cinq Sens (The Five Senses) which were well received.  The series was purchased by Empress Eugénie and Napoléon III of France for the significant sum of 25,000 francs. The purchase received a great deal of press, further promoting the artist’s renown. The following year he received the title of a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor, and was also an active member of the Société des Artistes Francais. Schlesinger died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, in 1893.