Simon Saint-Jean

Simon Saint-Jean (14 October 1808, Lyon - 3 July 1860, Écully) was a French painter who specialized in flowers.

After finishing school, he found a position in the silk design workshop of François Lepage [fr].

At the Salon of 1842, he was criticized by Théophile Gautier for a painting of Christ's head surrounded by eucharistic symbols.

[2] In 1845, Charles Baudelaire saw his exhibit at the Salon and was highly critical, referring to his works as "dining room paintings".

These included being named a Chevalier in the Order of Leopold, which came with being named a member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium, followed by a Salon showing in which he received the second-class medal but, by a decision of the Minister of State, Achille Fould, was given a first-class medal instead.