He intended to follow his father's profession until a serious illness compelled him to convalesce at Mâcon with his brother and sister-in-law in 1844 and 1845, which interrupted his studies.

He took a large studio near the Gare de Lyon and attended anatomy classes at the Académie des Beaux Arts.

In 1850, Puvis de Chavannes made his Salon debut with Dead Christ, Jeune noir à l'épée (Black youth with a sword),[8] The Reading Lesson, and Portrait of a Man.

[10] Over the course of his career, Puvis received a substantial number of commissions for works to be carried out in public and private institutions throughout France.

Of particular importance is the cycle at the Palais de Beaux Arts in Lyon, which includes three significant works, filling the wall space in the main staircase.

Puvis' career was tied up with a complicated debate that had been ongoing since the beginning of the Third Republic (1870), and at the end of the violence of the Paris Commune.

Puvis de Chavannes was president and co-founder in 1890 of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (National Society of Fine Arts) founded in Paris.

Those who translated best the spirit of the work of Puvis de Chavannes in their own creations were, in Germany, the painter Ludwig von Hofmann[11] and in France, Auguste Rodin.

[13] In Montmartre, he had an affair with one of his models, Suzanne Valadon, who would become one of the leading artists of the day as well as the mother, teacher, and mentor of Maurice Utrillo.

The Prix Puvis de Chavannes is the retrospective exhibition in Paris of the main works of the artist awarded the prize that year.

Recipients of the prize include: Media related to Pierre Puvis de Chavannes at Wikimedia Commons