Jean Baptiste Vermay

Jean-Baptiste Vermay (1786–1833) was a French-born Cuban painter, sculptor, caricaturist, educator, musician, and architect.^[1] He was the founding director of the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro.^[2]

Jean Baptiste Vermay
Eliab Metcalf, Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Vermay, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana
Born	(1786-10-15)15 October 1786 Tournan-en-Brie, Île-de-France, France
Died	30 March 1833(1833-03-30) (aged 46) Havana, Cuba
Other names	Jean-Baptiste Vermay
Occupation(s)	Painter, sculptor, caricaturist, educator, musician, architect

Biography

L'Mort de Marie Stuart (c. 1908) by Jean Baptiste Vermay

Jean-Baptiste Vermay was born on 15 October 1786 in Tournan-en-Brie, Île-de-France.^[3][4] In 1797, he moved to Paris to study in the studio of Jacques-Louis David.^[5] His classmate and friend was Joseph Leclerc de Baumé, the French painter. He also studied in Rome and Florence.^[4]

In 1808, he won honors for his work L'Mort de Marie Stuart at the L'Exposition Universelle de 1808, a world's fair.^[1]

In 1815, Vermay moved to Cuba.^[3] Starting in 1818, Vermay was the founding director of the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro.^[2] He remained at the school until his death.

Vermay painted the interior of the El Templete.^[6] Vermay in Cuba was appointed "Room Painter" of the King of Spain, Ferdinand VII. He died on 30 March 1833 in Havana from cholera.^[4]