Aimée Julie Cheron

Aimée Julie Cheron (née Jovin in Paris, 26 April 1821 – c. 1890) was a French miniature painter.

She was a pupil of François Meuret (1800–1887) and she belonged to the Salon in Paris from 1846 to 1870. After 1870, when portrait miniature started declining, she only painted still portraits and landscapes on porcelain, first in Paris, where she lived for a long time in 52 rue De Chabrol and in 22 rue Montholon, and then, in Samois sur Seine, in the last years of her life.

On 27 August 1850, she married Amedée Paul Cheron (Paris, 11 March 1819 – 5 May 1881) and had one son, Jacques Paul (b. 12 April 1953).

On 7 July 1881, Jacques Paul married Lucie (Lucy) Josephine Fehrenbach (19 December 1856 - ?), who was a pupil of her mother and a miniature painter in Paris where she lived at 18 rue de L’Ancienne Comédie and participated to the Salon in Paris from 1875 to 1880 painting also the portrait of the famous poet François Coppée (1842–1908). In the same 1881, after the death of Amedée, was granted to Aimée a civil pension.

Amedée was a well known bibliographer entered in 1845 at the Imperial Library as director of the department for reprinting rare books regarding fine art French history. Then in 1855/1856 he wrote for the editor Jannet the General catalogue of all literary works published in the period 1800–1855 and an additional book for Causeries du Lundi by Charles Augustin de Sainte Beuve. Aimée’s style was very detailed, a sort of pointillism typical of her teacher Francois Meuret, and of an other Meuret's pupil, Camille Cornéile Isbert (1825–1911), who often exhibited her miniatures at Salon together with Aimée. She was a good drawer, she treated with great care all the details of the sitter's face, especially the skin tones. Also the clothing is painted with great attention and the backgrounds are various: landscapes, interiors, or simple monochrome.

She had a deep faculty of introspection and succeeded in rendering the temperamental and psychological dimension of the sitters.

She signed her miniatures "Aimée Jovin" until 1850. From 1852 to 1872 she exposed at Salon signing "Aimée Cheron". Cheron is also the surname of an other great painter and miniaturist, Elisabeth Sophie Cheron (1684–1711). Among her pupils was also remember Tatiane Gerardin, who exhibited her works at the Salon from 1875 to 1885. In 1865, Aimèe was represented in a marble bust by the famous sculptor Charles Cordier (1827–1905), which is now in the private collection of the descendants of Cordier.

• Porcelain plaque of floral bouquet, signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1839.
• Porcelain plaque, with colourful painted bouquet of flowers in porcelain vase, drops of water, ladybirds and branches of flowers on a stone slab, signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1841;
• Portrait of a young lady, hair dressed with curling decorated with fresh flowers signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1841;
• Portrait of a young lady signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1845;
• Portrait of a young lady with centre-parted brown hair, sky background signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1846;
• Decorations for the book Contes written by Charles Nodier (1780–1844) and illustrated by Tony Johannot (1803–1852), published in Paris by J. Hetzel in 1846;
• Portrait of a young lady wearing a black velvet dress with lace collar, pearl buttons, and emerald brooch against a deep and sunny landscape with a palace in the foreground on the left of the sitter signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1847;
• Portrait of Marie-Madeleine-Charlotte Bailleul signed Aimée Jovin and dated 1847;
• Portrait of a lady wearing a blue headband and a white dress with a floral bouquet signed Aimée Jovin Cheron (1850?)
• Portrait of Mlle Fontane signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1852;
• Portrait of Mme C. Dorvault signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1852;
• Portrait of Mlle Les Aulnaies signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1852;
• Portrait of a young boy signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1857;
• Portrait of the Author's son Jacques Paul signed Aimée Cheron and dated October 1861;
• Portrait of Mlle Marguerite Devant signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1869;
• Portrait of Mlle Lucy Fehrenbach, signed Aimée Cheron and dated 1869;
• Portrait of the Count of Riboisiére Charles Honore, the eldest son of the Captain of Artillery of the Imperial Guard signed Aimée Cheron from Gros (1875?);
• Portrait of the Countess of Riboisiére signed Aimée Cheron from Kinson (1875?)

• Nathalie Lemoine Bouchard "Les peintres en miniature" Les Editions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2008
• Leo R. Schidlof "The miniature in Europe in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19 th centuries" 1964
• O. H. Lorenz, D. Jordell, H. Stein "Catalogue general de la librairie francaise" vol. 1 1867
• C. Cordier, L. de Margerie, E. Papet "Facing the other: Charles Cordier (1827 - 1905), ethnographic sculptor" 2004