Ernest Louis Lessieux

1848-1925

French (La Rochelle, France; Menton, France)

Lessieux began painting landscapes and maritime scenes of Spain, especially in watercolor. Many of these images were reproduced in chromolithography on calendars and later on tricolor postcards. He had a long career as a watercolorist that included scenes from the French front in World War I. While he worked in a conventional realist style, he produced over 200 postcards issued in sets between 1900 and 1902 whose graphics were highly influenced by Art Nouveau.