of margrave and ruled the greater part of the mark until his death in 1291. Albert’s two remaining sons, Frederick and Dietrich or Diezmann, then claimed Meissen; but it was seized by King Adolph of Nassau as a vacant fief of the empire, and was for some time retained by him and his successor King Albert I. In the course of constant efforts to secure the mark the brothers Frederick and Dietrich defeated the troops of King Albert at Lucka in May 1307 and secured partial possession of their lands. In this year Dietrich died and Frederick became reconciled with his father, who, after renouncing his claim on Meissen for a yearly payment, died in 1314. Having obtained possession of the greater part of the mark, Frederick was invested with it by the German king Henry VII. in 1310. During these years the part of Meissen around Dresden had been in the possession of Frederick, youngest son of the margrave Henry the Illustrious, and when he died in 1316 it came to his nephew Frederick. About 1312 Frederick, who had become involved in a dispute with Waldemar, margrave of Brandenburg, over the possession of lower Lusatia, was taken prisoner. Surrendering lower Lusatia he was released, but it was only after Waldemar’s death in 1319 that he obtained undisputed possession of Meissen. Frederick, who was surnamed the Peaceful, died in 1323 and was followed as margrave by his son Frederick II., called the Grave, who added several counties to his inheritance. From this latter Frederick’s death in 1349 until 1381 the lands of the family were ruled by his three sons jointly; but after the death of his eldest son Frederick III. in 1381 division was made by which Meissen fell to his youngest son William I. In 1407 William was succeeded by his nephew Frederick, called the Warlike, who in 1423 received from the emperor Sigismund the electoral duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. The mark then became merged in the duchy of Saxony, and at the partition of 1485 fell to the Albertine line. As Meissen was relieved from the attacks of the Slavs by the movement of the German boundary to the east, its prosperity increased. Many towns were founded, among which were Dresden, Leipzig and Freiburg; Chemnitz began its textile industry; and although the condition of the peasants was wretched, that of the townsmen was improving. The discoveries of silver brought great wealth to the margraves, but they resorted at times to bedes, which were contributions from the nobles and ecclesiastics who met in a kind of diet. During this period the mark of Meissen lay on both banks of the Elbe, and stretched from Bohemia to the duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, embracing an area of about 3000 sq. m.
See O. Posse, Die Markgrafen von Meissen und das Haus Wettin (Leipzig, 1881); F. W. Tittmann, Geschichte Heinrichs des erlauchten Markgrafen zu Meissen (Dresden, 1845–1846); C. F. von Posern-Klett, Zur Geschichte der Verfassung der Markgrafschaft Meissen im 13. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1863). See also Urkunden der Markgrafen von Meissen und Landgrafen von Thüringen, edited by E. G. Gersdorf (Leipzig, 1864); and H. B. Meyer, Hof- und Zentralverwaltung der Wettiner (Leipzig, 1902).
MEISSONIER, JEAN LOUIS ERNEST (1815–1891), French painter, was born at Lyons on the 21st of February 1815. From his schooldays he showed a taste for painting, to which some early sketches, dated 1823, bear witness. After being placed with a druggist, he obtained leave from his parents to become an artist, and, owing to the recommendation of a painter named Potier, himself a second class Prix de Rome, he was admitted to Léon Cogniet’s studio. He paid short visits to Rome and to Switzerland, and exhibited in the Salon of 1831 a picture then called “Les Bourgeois Flamands” (“Dutch Burghers”), but also known as “The Visit to the Burgomaster,” subsequently purchased by Sir Richard Wallace, in whose collection (at Hertford House, London) it is, with fifteen other examples of this painter. It was the first attempt in France in the particular genre which was destined to make Meissonier famous: microscopic painting—miniature in oils. Working hard for daily bread at illustrations for the publishers—Curmer, Hetzel and Dubocher—he also exhibited at the Salon of 1836 the “Chess Player” and the “Errand Boy.” After some not very happy attempts at religious painting, he returned, under the influence of Chenavard, to the class of work he was born to excel in, and exhibited with much success the “Game of Chess” (1841), the “Young Man playing the ’Cello” (1842), “The Painter in his Studio” (1843), “The Guard Room,” the “Young Man looking at Drawings,” the “Game of Piquet” (1845), and the “Game of Bowls”—works which show the finish and certainty of his technique, and assured his success. After his “Soldiers” (1848) he began “A Day in June,” which was never finished, and exhibited “A Smoker” (1849) and “Bravos” (“Les Bravi,” 1852). In 1855 he touched the highest mark of his achievement with “The Gamblers” and “The Quarrel” (“La Rixe”), which was presented by Napoleon III. to the English Court. His triumph was sustained at the Salon of 1857, when he exhibited nine pictures, and drawings; among them the “Young Man of the Time of the Regency,” “The Painter,” “The Shoeing Smith,” “The Musician,” and “A Reading at Diderot’s.” To the Salon of 1861 he sent “The Emperor at Solferino,” “A Shoeing Smith,” “A Musician,” “A Painter,” and “M. Louis Fould”; to that of 1864 another version of “The Emperor at Solferino,” and “1814.” He subsequently exhibited “A Gamblers’ Quarrel” (1865), and “Desaix and the Army of the Rhine” (1867). Meissonier worked with elaborate care and a scrupulous observation of nature. Some of his works, as for instance his “1807,” remained ten years in course of execution. To the great Exhibition of 1878 he contributed sixteen pictures: the portrait of Alexandre Dumas which had been seen at the Salon of 1877, “Cuirassiers of 1805,” “A Venetian Painter,” “Moreau and his Staff before Hohenlinden,” a “Portrait of a Lady,” the “Road to La Salice,” “The Two Friends,” “The Outpost of the Grand Guard,” “A Scout,” and “Dictating his Memoirs.” Thenceforward he exhibited less in the Salons, and sent his work to smaller exhibitions. Being chosen president of the Great National Exhibition in 1883, he was represented there by such works as “The Pioneer,” “The Army of the Rhine,” “The Arrival of the Guests,” and “Saint Mark.” On the 24th of May 1884 an exhibition was opened at the Petit Gallery of Meissonier’s collected works, including 146 examples. As president of the jury on painting at the Exhibition of 1889 he contributed some new pictures. In the following year the New Salon was formed (the National Society of Fine Arts), and Meissonier was president. He exhibited there in 1890 his picture “1807”; and in 1891, shortly after his death, his “Barricade” was displayed there. A less well-known class of work than his painting is a series of etchings: “The Last Supper,” “The Skill of Vuillaume the Lute Player,” “The Little Smoker,” “The Old Smoker,” the “Preparations for a Duel,” “Anglers,” “Troopers,” “The Reporting Sergeant,” and “Polichinelle,” in the Hertford House collection. He also tried lithography, but the prints are now scarcely to be found. Of all the painters of the century, Meissonier was one of the most fortunate in the matter of payments. His “Cuirassiers,” now in the late duc d’Aumale’s collection at Chantilly, was bought from the artist for £10,000, sold at Brussels for £11,000, and finally resold for £16,000. Besides his genre portraits, he painted some others: those of “Doctor Lefevre,” of “Chenavard,” of “Vanderbilt,” of “Doctor Guyon,” and of “Stanford.” He also collaborated with the painter Français in a picture of “The Park at St Cloud.” In 1838 Meissonier married the sister of M. Steinheil, a painter. Meissonier was attached by Napoleon III. to the imperial staff, and accompanied him during the campaign in Italy and at the beginning of the war in 1870. During the siege of Paris in 1871 he was colonel of a marching regiment. In 1840 he was awarded a third-class medal, a second-class medal in 1841, first-class medals in 1843 and 1844 and medals of honour at the great exhibitions. In 1846 he was appointed knight of the Legion of Honour and promoted to the higher grades in 1856, 1867 (June 29), and 1880 (July 12), receiving the Grand Cross in 1889 (Oct. 29). He nevertheless cherished certain ambitions which remained unfulfilled. He hoped to become a professor at the École des Beaux Arts, but the appointment he desired was never given to him. On various occasions,
