Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Puvis de Chavannes created large painted ensembles for museums, universities and public buildings. His allegorical figures represent the arts, sciences and ideas about an ideal society. Major commissions included the Sorbonne’s amphitheatre and a cycle for Boston Public Library. He painted the Boston canvases in France using supplied dimensions; they were then shipped and attached to the walls. Restrained colour and measured arrangements of figures helped his paintings harmonise with architecture.