Felix Ziem

Architect-turned-painter Félix Ziem was not only famous in France at the turn of the 19th century, but quite wealthy. Ziem was the first artist whose work was inducted into the Louvre while he was still alive; unsurprisingly, he ran in elite social circles. An avid traveler, his paintings mostly depict the various European cities he traveled to, most notably Venice. Like other painters in the Barbizon school, Ziem believed that the natural landscape was a worthy subject for a canvas in and of itself, not merely a backdrop for some kind of action or portrait. Ziem exhibited at the Paris Salon regularly, and was known as charitable to young struggling artists throughout his career.