Victor Nehlig was a French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

.

Life

Born in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1830, Nehlig studied painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 under Léon Cogniet

Léon Cogniet

Léon Cogniet was a French historical and portrait painter.- Biography :Cogniet was born in Paris. In 1812, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Pierre-Narcisse Guérin at the same time as Delacroix and Géricault. In 1817 he won the Prix de Rome and was a resident at...

 and Abel de Pujol

Abel de Pujol

Alexandre-Denis-Abel de Pujol or Abel de Pujol was a French painter. He was a student of David and his own students included Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps and Emile Levy. He painted the ceiling of the grand-staircase at the Louvre as well as the galerie de Diane at Fontainebleau and the ceiling of the...

. In 1850, he moved to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where he would live and work for the next 22 years, interrupted only by a brief stay in Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. During his time in the United States, Nehlig opened a studio in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and painted a variety of works in the academic style

Academic art

Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...

, often demonstrating his prowess at depicting the human figure. Nehlig returned to his native France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in 1872, two years after being elected an academician in the National Academy of Design

National Academy of Design

The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...

 and shortly after his studio and many of his reference materials were destroyed in a devastating fire. He died in 1909 in New York City.

Works

While Nehlig was relatively well-known among art enthusiasts during his time, his work has seen less attention in subsequent years. He frequently painted interpretations of American history, taking a special interest in scenes from the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, the effects of which he witnessed firsthand. An Episode of the War — The Cavalry Charge of Lt. Henry B. Hidden

Henry B. Hidden

Henry B. Hidden was a First Lieutenant in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Hidden is believed to be the first cavalry officer killed in action in the Army of the Potomac and the first officer of Union volunteer cavalry killed in the Civil War.-Biography:Henry B...

(1875), held in the collection of the New-York Historical Society

New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...

's Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture, and Pocahontas Saving Capt. John Smith (1870), held in the collection of the Museum of Art BYU, are among his only paintings on public display. A number of others exist in private collections.