Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in
Paris, France, he grew up in an artistic household, the son of
Charles-Olivier Merson, a painter and art critic. He studied under
Gustave Chassevent at the École de Dessin and then
Isidore Pils at the . Merson had his first work exhibited at the
Paris Salon in 1866 and three years later was awarded the
Prix de Rome. During the five years spent working in Italy, he concentrated on religious and historical subjects for his art. Back in France, in 1875 he won the first-prize medal at the exhibition by the
Société des artistes français.
Notre-Dame de Paris, one of Merson's best-known paintings, was created in 1881 as a result of the huge popularity of the
Victor Hugo novel of the same name. With its mystical
Gothic imagery, its style reflects the influence of the then evolving
Symbolist movement. Merson did major decorative commissions for such institutions as the
Palais de Justice, the
Louis Pasteur Museum, and the mosaic in the chancel vault in the
Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. He also did the artwork for stained-glass windows, an example of which can be found in the
Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His profile was raised considerably after being awarded a gold medal for his painting at the 1889
Exposition Universelle, and in 1892 he was elected to the
Académie des beaux-arts. Merson was one of the first artists to buy photographs from
Eugène Atget. " design of 1900 was still being used in 1927 for the
French post offices in Egypt; Merson's name is barely visible in the lower left of the frame. By 1900 Merson was designing postage stamps for the French post and the Monaco post. He was teaching at the
Académie Vitti in 1903. By 1908 he had been contracted by the
Bank of France to create a number of designs for some of the country's banknotes. Between 1906 and 1911 he taught at the École des Beaux-Arts, with students such as
Clément Serveau, who would also eventually design stamps and banknotes himself. Other students of his included painter
Henri Alphonse Barnoin, and American painter
Helen Savier DuMond. In recognition of his contribution to French culture, Merson was awarded the
Legion of Honor. Merson died in Paris in 1920, his work largely forgotten as a result of the overwhelming popularity of the
avant-garde art forms as seen in the works of the
Impressionists and other artistic movements. Named as a Knight of the Legion of Honor during his life, he was elevated to the level of Commander posthumously. Among Merson's pupils were the American painter
Claire Shuttleworth and the Swiss printmaker
Martha Cunz. ==Selected works==