Simon Durand (Swiss, 1838 – 1896)

Simon Durand (Swiss, 1838 – 1896) “End of the School Day”

Oil on Canvas 28 x 24 inches

There is little known about Simon Durand.  The Geneva artist studied first with the Louis-Moïse Spiess and later attended the class of the landscape painter Barthélemy Menn at the École des Beaux-Arts in Calvinstadt.  He gained prominence mainly through his portraits and genre scenes, which he publicly presented from 1862 onwards.  In the 1860s he spent several months in Paris, where he was able to develop artistically.  For the town hall of Plainpalais, he later created the wall painting “Les Promotions”.