Jean-Louis Hamon

At an early age he was intended for the priesthood, and placed under the care of the brothers Lamennais, but his strong desire to become a painter finally triumphed over family opposition, and in 1840 he left Plouha for Paris—his sole resources being a pension of five hundred francs, granted him for one year only by the municipality of his native town.

[1] His lack of success led Hamon to accept a job as a designree in the Sèvres porcelein factory, but an enamelled casket designed by him attracted notice at the London International Exhibition of 1851.

"La Comédie humaine", which he then exhibited, turned the tide of his fortune, and Ma sœur n'y est pas (purchased by the emperor Napoleon III) obtained for its author a third-class medal in 1853.

At the Paris International Exhibition of 1855, when Hamon re-exhibited the casket of 1851, together with several vases and pictures of which L'Amour et son troupeau, Ce n'est pas moi, and Une Gardeuse d'enfants were the most important, he received a second class medal and the ribbon of the legion of honor.

The influence of Italy was also evident in Les Muses à Pompéi, his sole contribution to the Salon of 1866, a work which enjoyed great popularity and was re-exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1867, together with, La Promenade and six other pictures of previous years.