Jean Louis Forain - Pierre Auguste Renoir - 1960.251 - Cleveland Museum of Art

Jean Louis Forain (1852–1931) was born on the 23rd of October 1852 in the French city of Reims. His father painted ornamental signs and had a modest income. Forain soon displayed a strong passion for drawing: “the sculptures of Reims Cathedral were the origins of my vocation”.Around 1860, his family moved to Paris and, at the age of fourteen, the young Jean-Louis began to draw at the Louvre where he copied the masters. There, he met the painter Jacquesson de la Chevreuse who gave him drawing lessons.