Simon Jacques Rochard

Simon Jacques Rochard (28 December 1788 – 10 June 1872) was a painter of portrait miniatures in France, England and Brussels in the first half of the nineteenth century.^[1][2]

He was born in Paris to René Rochard and Marie Madeleine Talon. He showed early talent and, after his father died, helped support his mother and eleven siblings by drawing portraits. Rochard studied under Étienne Aubry and at the École des Beaux-Arts. He also studied miniature-painting from Emilie Bounieu (daughter of Michel Honoré Bounieu). At only twenty he painted a portrait of the Empress Joséphine for Napoleon and later other portraits of the imperial family.^[1][3]

After Napoleon's return from Elba in 1815, he was drafted into the army but deserted and went to Brussels. There he received commissions to paint miniatures including at least one of the Duke of Wellington leader of the forces opposing Napoleon.^[4] Shortly after he moved to London and became very popular, painting numerous miniatures of members of the upper class such as Princess Charlotte.^[5] He exhibited mostly at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1816 to 1845.^[6]

In 1846, he moved to Brussels where he exhibited at the Salon there until 1869. He also exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1852 and the International Exposition of 1867 in Paris. He died in 1872.^[1][2][7]