Zéphirin Belliard

1798 - 1871

Zéphirin Félix Jean Marius Belliard (Zéphirin Belliard), was born in Marseille on February 16, 1798, and died in Aix-en-Provence on March 28, 1871. He was a French lithographer and miniaturist painter.

The son of a goldsmith, he enrolled at the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1817. Notably, he studied under the tutelage of Augustin Aubert and Paulin Guérin. Belliard exhibited his works at the Paris Salon between 1822 and 1843.

Zéphirin Belliard was renowned for his lithographed portraits of various personalities, often based on paintings by other artists, whether contemporary or from different periods. It was in his workshop in Marseille that Honoré Daumier, whose father was a friend of Belliard, first discovered the art of lithography.