WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 All right. I want you to start this deep dive 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:05.320 with a very specific mental image. Just clear 00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:08.359 your mind for a second. Okay. Now, picture a 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:10.919 19th century French painter. You're probably 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:15.880 imagining a quiet, sun -drenched studio. Right. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.280 The smell of turpentine in the air. Yeah. Maybe 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.519 a guy in a velvet smock gently dabbing paint 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.980 onto a canvas. Exactly. Like a bowl of fruit 00:00:23.980 --> 00:00:26.600 or, you know, a moody landscape. That is the 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:28.800 box we usually put them in. It's the classic 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.969 archetype. The solitary, sensitive artist completely 00:00:32.969 --> 00:00:35.289 removed from the chaos of the real world. That's 00:00:35.289 --> 00:00:38.030 it. Exactly. Now, I want you to take that image 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:41.590 and hand it a rifle. Right. Put it behind a barricade 00:00:41.590 --> 00:00:43.450 in the middle of a violent street revolution. 00:00:43.909 --> 00:00:46.270 It's quite the contrast. And then, just for good 00:00:46.270 --> 00:00:48.789 measure, make that same guy the mayor of one 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:50.969 of the wildest, most radical districts in Paris. 00:00:51.250 --> 00:00:53.049 It sounds like we're mashing up three entirely 00:00:53.049 --> 00:00:56.149 different biographies into one, but... But we 00:00:56.149 --> 00:00:58.570 aren't. No, we are talking about one man. Okay. 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:01.770 Emil Jean -Baptiste Philippe Ben. This is the 00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:04.069 figure we're unpacking today. And I have to say, 00:01:04.170 --> 00:01:06.790 looking at the research, this guy is a walking, 00:01:06.849 --> 00:01:09.650 talking contradiction. He really is. It is not 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:12.530 often you find a watercolorist who specializes 00:01:12.530 --> 00:01:15.909 in, like, delicate mythological nudes, but is 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:19.400 also... a staunch republican engaging in armed 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:21.980 conflict it feels like a character a screenwriter 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:24.420 made up just to be edgy totally does yeah but 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:27.780 he was very real he was and our mission for this 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:30.959 deep dive is to look at 19th century france through 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:33.540 the lens of this one man because it's a fascinating 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:36.040 lens it really is we want to understand how art 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:38.420 and politics didn't just coexist in his life 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:41.319 they violently collided yeah we're talking about 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.579 a man established enough to found the society 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:48.290 enough to be fired from a government post for 00:01:48.290 --> 00:01:50.969 a conspiracy involving a general. It is a wild 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:53.549 ride. We've got an intense artistic upbringing 00:01:53.549 --> 00:01:56.629 and absolute refusal to sell out for money. Which 00:01:56.629 --> 00:01:59.349 is rare. Extremely rare. A turbulent political 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.069 career and a downfall that centers around, of 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:05.219 all things, a portrait. And that portrait is 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:07.040 really the key. It's the perfect example of the 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.740 danger of mixing art and politics in this era. 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:12.259 Totally. But before we get to the scandal and 00:02:12.259 --> 00:02:15.099 the downfall, we really need to understand how 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.240 he became a painter in the first place. Right. 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:19.280 Because looking at his background, it doesn't 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.780 seem like he had much of a choice. Let's go back 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:24.759 to the beginning then. Emile Ben, born in Paris, 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:28.840 1825. You say he didn't have a choice. Was this 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.879 a case of the family business? Absolutely. Art 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.689 was the family trade. His father was Jean -Baptiste 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:37.949 François Bin, often called Bimper. Right. He 00:02:37.949 --> 00:02:40.889 was Emile's first teacher. So from the moment 00:02:40.889 --> 00:02:42.569 he could hold a pencil, he's immersed in this 00:02:42.569 --> 00:02:45.069 world. But it wasn't just his dad. Right. The 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:47.110 materials mention an uncle as well, don't they? 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:49.270 Yes, Nicolas Gosse. And this is where the training 00:02:49.270 --> 00:02:51.909 gets really serious. Okay. Bin studied with his 00:02:51.909 --> 00:02:55.030 uncle from the age of 12 to 15. Now pause and 00:02:55.030 --> 00:02:57.689 think about that. 12 to 15. Most kids are just 00:02:57.689 --> 00:02:59.349 trying to get through middle school math. Or 00:02:59.349 --> 00:03:02.490 deal with puberty. But Ben is in a rigorous, 00:03:02.569 --> 00:03:05.590 high -stakes art apprenticeship. That is an intense 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:08.330 developmental period. He's not out playing tag. 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:12.030 He's mastering perspective, shading, anatomy. 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:14.870 Precisely. And it wasn't just a hobby. It was 00:03:14.870 --> 00:03:17.710 professional prep. He clearly had the talent 00:03:17.710 --> 00:03:20.629 to back it up because he moved on to work with 00:03:20.629 --> 00:03:22.949 Leon Cogna. Who was a pretty big deal. A very 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:25.830 significant figure in French painting, yes. And 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:28.069 then he entered the École des Beaux -Arts in 00:03:28.069 --> 00:03:31.550 1842. For those listening who might not be art 00:03:31.550 --> 00:03:34.949 history buffs, can you contextualize the École 00:03:34.949 --> 00:03:37.090 des Beaux -Arts? Is this like, I don't know, 00:03:37.110 --> 00:03:39.590 getting into Harvard? It's Harvard, Yale, and 00:03:39.590 --> 00:03:42.229 Oxford rolled into one, specifically for art. 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:44.969 Wow. It was the ultimate gatekeeper. If you wanted 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:47.169 a serious career in France, you went through 00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:49.449 the École. And the training paid off fast, right? 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:52.610 Very fast. Yeah. By 1845, when Ben was just 20 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:54.969 years old, he was already exhibiting at the Salon. 00:03:55.090 --> 00:03:57.490 And again, just to clarify the stakes here, the 00:03:57.490 --> 00:03:59.569 Salon wasn't just a local gallery show where 00:03:59.569 --> 00:04:01.710 you put out some cheese and wine. No, not at 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:04.509 all. The Salon was the art event of the Western 00:04:04.509 --> 00:04:07.069 world. Like the Super Bowl of painting. Exactly. 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:10.310 Thousands of people, critics, potential buyers, 00:04:10.550 --> 00:04:12.990 government officials, getting accepted at 20 00:04:12.990 --> 00:04:15.030 is a massive achievement. It signals that you 00:04:15.030 --> 00:04:17.910 have arrived. It really does. So he's a prodigy, 00:04:17.910 --> 00:04:20.810 he's young, he's talented, and he's firmly in 00:04:20.810 --> 00:04:24.189 the system. But what was his vibe? If I walked 00:04:24.189 --> 00:04:28.269 into the salon in 1850 and saw a bin... What 00:04:28.269 --> 00:04:30.509 am I looking at? You are looking at classicism. 00:04:30.709 --> 00:04:33.089 He was very traditional in his tastes. Okay. 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:35.709 The sources describe him as a fervent admirer 00:04:35.709 --> 00:04:38.110 of Michelangelo and Raphael. Going right to the 00:04:38.110 --> 00:04:40.209 heavy hitters. Right. He even took a trip to 00:04:40.209 --> 00:04:43.230 Rome in 1866 with his star pupil, Joseph Blank, 00:04:43.250 --> 00:04:45.329 just to be closer to that Renaissance inspiration. 00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:47.509 So we aren't talking about avant -garde rule 00:04:47.509 --> 00:04:49.149 -breaking art here. We aren't seeing the early 00:04:49.149 --> 00:04:51.310 rumblings of Impressionism yet. Far from it. 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:54.540 Ben was all about structure, anatomy, and grand 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:57.720 themes. He preferred historical scenes, anecdotal 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.300 moments, and most notably, mythological nudes. 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.360 The list of works in the sources is great. The 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.079 Hamadryad from 1870. Yes. The Death of Orpheus, 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:08.399 Perseid Undermade. These are big, dramatic, classical 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.860 themes. They are, and they require a high level 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.649 of technical skill. You have to know the mythology, 00:05:14.850 --> 00:05:17.370 sure, but you also have to execute the human 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.029 form perfectly according to very strict academic 00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:22.750 standards. Right. But here is where we have to 00:05:22.750 --> 00:05:25.990 widen the lens. Ben wasn't just a gallery artist 00:05:25.990 --> 00:05:28.189 hoping someone would buy a canvas for their living 00:05:28.189 --> 00:05:30.709 room. No. He was a working decorative painter. 00:05:30.930 --> 00:05:32.829 I think this distinction is really important 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:35.709 because today we hear decorative painter and 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:37.990 maybe think of someone painting faux marble in 00:05:37.990 --> 00:05:40.250 a bathroom or something. Right, right. But in 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:42.360 the 19th century, this meant something. Very 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.259 different, didn't it? Completely different. We 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:46.879 are talking about massive architectural projects, 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:50.319 government contracts. Big stuff. He was decorating 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.480 the great hall of the Hotel du Louvre, which 00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:55.779 he actually worked on with his uncle. Oh, full 00:05:55.779 --> 00:05:58.379 circle. Exactly. He did work for the Church of 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:00.720 Saint -Sulpice, the Credit Mobilier, and the 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:03.459 National Museum of Natural History. These are 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:06.040 major centers of power, finance, and religion 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:09.660 in Paris. You don't get these jobs unless you 00:06:09.660 --> 00:06:11.920 are reliable and respected by the establishment. 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:14.899 And you have to be able to cover huge surface 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:18.000 areas. It's physical work. Painting a ceiling 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:21.180 or a mural is physically demanding. Yeah. He 00:06:21.180 --> 00:06:23.339 even worked on the Egyptian pavilion for the 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:26.459 International Exposition of 1867. Right. I saw 00:06:26.459 --> 00:06:29.060 that. That project was designed by Jacques Dravet, 00:06:29.100 --> 00:06:32.300 but Bin's contribution was significant enough 00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:35.379 that he was awarded the Order of the Medjidi. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.750 Which is an Ottoman order. So his reputation 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:40.990 is literally crossing borders. It was. In 1871, 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:43.689 he even received three commissions from Russia. 00:06:43.990 --> 00:06:47.649 Wow. So if you stop the story right here, the 00:06:47.649 --> 00:06:50.769 profile of Emil Bin is pretty clear. He is a 00:06:50.769 --> 00:06:53.370 highly successful, establishment -approved artist 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:56.170 decorating the walls of the elite. The definition 00:06:56.170 --> 00:06:58.629 of an insider. But we can't stop the story there, 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:01.149 because while he is painting ceilings for luxury 00:07:01.149 --> 00:07:03.910 hotels and receiving medals from foreign empires, 00:07:04.050 --> 00:07:06.920 he is leading a double life. And that is where 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:08.980 the staunch Republican comes in. We really need 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:11.699 to define Republican in this context. For a modern 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:13.740 listener, that word has very specific political 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:16.259 connotations depending on where you live. What 00:07:16.259 --> 00:07:18.600 did it mean to be a Republican in mid -19th century 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.620 France? In this era, being a Republican meant 00:07:21.620 --> 00:07:24.620 you were anti -monarchy and pro -democracy. Okay. 00:07:24.759 --> 00:07:26.439 And you have to remember, France was bouncing 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:29.480 back and forth between kings, emperors, and republics 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:32.300 like a ping pong ball. It was a chaotic century. 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:35.220 Extremely. So being a staunch Republican meant 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:37.199 you... You were fundamentally opposed to the 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:39.639 ruling power if that power was a king or an emperor. 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:42.199 It was a radical position. And Ben wasn't just 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:44.699 debating this in coffee shops either. The source 00:07:44.699 --> 00:07:47.420 says he fought on the barricades in 1848 and 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:50.319 1851. That is the key distinction between a sympathizer 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.899 and a revolutionary. Right. 1848 was the year 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:56.180 of revolutions across Europe. 1851 was the coup 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:58.500 by Louis -Napoleon Bonaparte, who would become 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:00.959 Napoleon III. And fighting on the barricades 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.339 meant urban warfare. Exactly. You are piling 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:07.000 up cobblestones and furniture in the street and 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.420 shooting at government troops. You are risking 00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:12.680 execution or deportation. It paints such a wild 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:15.540 picture. One day he is carefully studying the 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:18.019 brush strokes of Raphael, worrying about the 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:20.519 shading on a nymph's arm, and the next he is 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:23.240 loading a musket with gunpowder -stained hands. 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:26.949 It shows a compartmentalization or... perhaps 00:08:26.949 --> 00:08:30.389 a fusion, that is just incredibly rare. But there 00:08:30.389 --> 00:08:32.549 is one specific story from the research that 00:08:32.549 --> 00:08:34.769 I think really defines his character. It's the 00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:37.289 principles over profit moment. This is the story 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:39.309 about the portrait of Napoleon III, right? Yes. 00:08:39.730 --> 00:08:43.690 So, Ben is a working artist. Artists have good 00:08:43.690 --> 00:08:47.529 years and bad years. Sure. At one point, he really 00:08:47.529 --> 00:08:50.250 needed the money. She had a family to support. 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:53.500 And he was offered a commission to paint a portrait 00:08:53.500 --> 00:08:56.240 of Napoleon III for the town hall of Montmartre. 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:58.980 Now, Napoleon III is the guy who staged the coup 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.860 in 1851. Right. He is the emperor. He is the 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:04.279 arch nemesis of the republicans. Exactly. He 00:09:04.279 --> 00:09:07.360 is everything Ben fought against on those barricades. 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:09.059 But the money was there. The money was there. 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.899 It was a government job and he was broke. I mean, 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:14.059 most people would just hold their nose, paint 00:09:14.059 --> 00:09:16.919 the portrait and cast the check. Right. But Ben 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:20.080 said no. He refused? He flat out rejected the 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:23.120 commission. That is gutsy. It's one thing to 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:25.440 fight anonymously in a crowd. It's another to 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:28.639 personally reject a job from head of state because 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.100 of your principles, especially when you're broke. 00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:33.460 It highlights that his politics weren't just 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.320 a hobby or a youthful phase. He was willing to 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:38.679 suffer financially for his beliefs. He wasn't 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:40.759 a fair -weather Republican. And that commitment 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:42.940 carried right through to the siege of Paris in 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:46.340 1870. This is a dark period. The Prussians have 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:49.120 the city surrounded. People are starving, eating 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.220 zoo animals. It was a disaster. Where was Ben? 00:09:52.669 --> 00:09:54.549 He wasn't hiding in his studio. He was appointed 00:09:54.549 --> 00:09:56.830 to the Council of Armaments and Supplies. Wow. 00:09:57.149 --> 00:09:59.649 He was using his organizational skills to help 00:09:59.649 --> 00:10:02.129 defend the city. He was active. But, and the 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.570 sources make a point of this, he had limits. 00:10:05.129 --> 00:10:06.750 And I think this is where the story gets really 00:10:06.750 --> 00:10:09.909 nuanced. It does. After the siege came the Commune. 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:12.230 The radical socialist government that reefly 00:10:12.230 --> 00:10:15.370 took over Paris in 1871. Right. It was chaotic 00:10:15.370 --> 00:10:18.110 and very bloody. The source notes that while 00:10:18.110 --> 00:10:20.490 Bin was anti -clerical and close to the extreme 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:23.149 radical left, he refused to take part in the 00:10:23.149 --> 00:10:26.169 Commune. So he's radical, but not that radical. 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:29.159 Or was it something else? It could be pragmatism. 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:31.740 He retired to Argentine during that period. Maybe 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:34.659 he saw the violence of the commune as counterproductive, 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:36.960 or maybe he just saw that it was doomed to fail. 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:39.179 That makes sense. It shows that he wasn't just 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.679 a mindless revolutionary. He made choices about 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.399 when to fight and when to step back. He was a 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:47.279 Republican, but the commune was something different. 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:49.440 It was an insurrection against the French government 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:53.440 itself. So the dust settles on the 1870s. The 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:56.330 Third Republic is finally established. The thing 00:10:56.330 --> 00:10:59.309 he's been fighting for his whole life is here. 00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:02.629 Finally. Bin is an older man now. He's got his 00:11:02.629 --> 00:11:05.169 medals, his reputation. You'd think he'd just 00:11:05.169 --> 00:11:07.250 settle down, paint some flowers, and enjoy the 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:09.490 democracy. He did not settle down. In fact, he 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:13.129 leveled up. How so? In 1883, the painter becomes 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:16.269 the mayor. The mayor of the 18—well, just mall. 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:19.049 That's— Yes, mall. Today, we think of it as a 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:21.529 tourist spot with the Sacré -Cœur, but back then 00:11:21.529 --> 00:11:23.809 it was the edge of the city. It was working class. 00:11:23.809 --> 00:11:26.409 It was bohemian. It was radical. And for six 00:11:26.409 --> 00:11:29.570 years, Emile Bin, the classical painter, was 00:11:29.570 --> 00:11:32.009 the guy in charge of sanitation, zoning, and 00:11:32.009 --> 00:11:34.710 police. I love the image of him leaving a studio 00:11:34.710 --> 00:11:37.850 session to go deal with a municipal budget crisis 00:11:37.850 --> 00:11:40.509 or a dispute over a street market. He's fantastic. 00:11:40.909 --> 00:11:43.129 But his political career didn't end with a retirement 00:11:43.129 --> 00:11:46.909 party. It ended in a massive scandal. The Boulanger 00:11:46.909 --> 00:11:48.990 Affair. This is where the story turns into a 00:11:48.990 --> 00:11:52.990 tragedy. It's 1889. Ben has been mayor for six 00:11:52.990 --> 00:11:56.230 years. Suddenly, he is relieved of his duties 00:11:56.230 --> 00:11:59.350 fired, essentially by Ernest Constance, the Minister 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:02.580 of the Interior. And the charge is boulangism. 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:04.779 We need to unpack that term because it sounds 00:12:04.779 --> 00:12:06.500 like a bread baking contest, but it was actually 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:08.960 very serious. Very serious. It refers to General 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.360 Boulanger. He was this incredibly popular, charismatic 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.399 general. Okay. He was riding a wave of populism, 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.500 and many people in the government feared he was 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:18.559 planning a coup to install himself as a dictator. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:21.700 Ah. He was the man on horseback that the Republic 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:24.759 was terrified of. So being a boulangist meant 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:27.080 you were suspected of supporting a new dictatorship. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:31.100 Which is ironic, because Bin has spent his whole 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.179 life fighting for the republic. Why on earth 00:12:34.179 --> 00:12:35.779 did they think he was supporting a potential 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:38.940 dictator? Well, the source suggests the root 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:42.320 cause was art. Of course it was. It always comes 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:44.980 back to the canvas. In 1888, the year before 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:47.779 he was fired, Bin had exhibited a portrait of 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:50.899 General Boulanger at the salon. So, simply because 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:53.159 he painted the guy, the government assumed he 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:55.360 supported his politics. It seems that way. Or 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:57.039 at least, it gave his enemies the ammunition 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.710 they needed. Bin didn't take this lying down, 00:12:59.850 --> 00:13:02.389 though. What was his defense? Bin claimed it 00:13:02.389 --> 00:13:05.009 was pure political manipulation. He pointed the 00:13:05.009 --> 00:13:08.070 finger at a man named Jules Joffrin. Who was 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:10.490 that? Joffrin was a socialist who was actually 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:13.590 running against General Boulanger in the legislative 00:13:13.590 --> 00:13:16.830 elections. Oh, interesting. Bin believed Joffrin 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:19.409 used the portrait to frame him as a Boulangist 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:22.129 to get him out of the way. That is some serious 00:13:22.129 --> 00:13:25.009 political 4D chess. I'll use your painting to 00:13:25.009 --> 00:13:26.889 accuse you of treason so I can win an election. 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:29.700 It really reflects the paranoia of the time, 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:33.899 but it also highlights the danger of mixing art 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:37.259 and politics. A portrait is rarely just a portrait 00:13:37.259 --> 00:13:39.419 in that environment. Right. Ben might have seen 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:41.919 it as just a subject, or maybe he admired the 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.519 general as a soldier. We don't know for sure. 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:46.860 But the perception of the artwork became a weapon. 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:49.519 And it worked. The weapon fired. He lost his 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:52.299 position. He did. The minister of the interior 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:55.779 fired him. It's a tragic end to his political 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:58.320 career brought about by his artistic career. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:00.919 The two halves of his life finally crashed into 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.679 each other. Exactly. Despite the scandal, though, 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:06.179 his legacy in the art world was actually pretty 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:08.659 secure. I mean, he wasn't just some guy who got 00:14:08.659 --> 00:14:11.259 fired. He helped shape the next generation of 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:14.159 French painters. Absolutely. If you look at his 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:16.399 students, the names are surprising. The most 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:19.000 famous one is Paul Signac. Signac. The point 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:21.480 list. The guy with all the colorful dots. The 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:25.200 very same. Bin taught him. And this is fascinating 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:27.539 because Bin was a rigid classicist, right? Yeah, 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:31.539 he loved Raphael. And Signac was a neo -impressionist 00:14:31.539 --> 00:14:34.600 revolutionary. But it shows that Bin must have 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.200 been an incredible technical teacher. He gave 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.820 Signac the tools, the understanding of color 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:42.399 and composition that Signac then used to break 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:44.700 the rules. It's the old learn the rules like 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:46.639 a pro so you can break them like an artist idea. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.120 Exactly. The source also mentions Henri Rivière 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.100 and Charles Léandre as students. These were significant 00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:55.440 artists. That's quite a roster. And beyond his 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:57.940 students, Ben was an institution builder. He 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:00.620 was one of the founders of the Société des Artistes 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:03.259 Français in 1880. And the Salon des Artistes 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:05.659 Français the next year. He was literally building 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:07.919 the structures that supported French art. He 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:10.879 was. And he was recognized for it. He received 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.799 the Legion d 'Honneur rank of Knight in 1878. 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:17.460 So despite the political disgrace later on, the 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:19.440 state had already recognized his contributions. 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.639 Yes, very officially. There is one final project 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.639 mentioned in the source that I think is the perfect 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.759 capstone to his life. It happened in 1889, the 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.320 same year of the scandal, right? Yes, 1889, the 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.080 centenary of the French Revolution. A huge year 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.799 for a Republican like Bin. He executed a 20 -canvas 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:42.679 historical diorama. Can you describe what a diorama 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:45.600 was to a 19th century audience? Think of it as 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:48.580 the IMAX of the 1800s. Oh, I like that. It was 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:51.620 an immersive visual experience. You would stand 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:53.919 in the center and be completely surrounded by 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:57.980 these massive paintings. 20 canvases is an enormous 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:00.679 undertaking. In the subject matter. It covered 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:03.100 the history of the Republic he loved so much. 00:16:03.929 --> 00:16:06.190 From the storming of the Bastille all the way 00:16:06.190 --> 00:16:08.549 to the departure of Leon Gambetta during the 00:16:08.549 --> 00:16:11.509 siege of Paris. The sea she lived through. Exactly. 00:16:11.590 --> 00:16:13.990 He was painting history that he had personally 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:16.470 witnessed and participated in. He was documenting 00:16:16.470 --> 00:16:18.590 the birth and struggle of the Republic. It's 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:21.169 almost poetic. He's getting fired by the government 00:16:21.169 --> 00:16:24.330 for alleged treason. while simultaneously unveiling 00:16:24.330 --> 00:16:26.649 a massive monument to the history of that same 00:16:26.649 --> 00:16:28.490 government. It really underlines the tragedy 00:16:28.490 --> 00:16:30.789 and the irony of his situation. He was a true 00:16:30.789 --> 00:16:32.549 believer in the republic. He was celebrating 00:16:32.549 --> 00:16:35.090 it in paint at the very moment the republic turned 00:16:35.090 --> 00:16:37.269 its back on him politically. It's heartbreaking 00:16:37.269 --> 00:16:40.029 in a way. He dedicated his life to two things, 00:16:40.169 --> 00:16:44.750 art and the republic. And in the end, his art 00:16:44.750 --> 00:16:47.470 was used to sever his tie to the republic's leadership. 00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:50.480 That's a powerful way to put it. Emile Bin died 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.700 a few years later in 1897 in Marley LaVille. 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:57.639 A quiet end to a very loud life. Indeed. So when 00:16:57.639 --> 00:16:59.919 we step back and look at this deep dive, what 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:03.159 are we really seeing? Because to me, Bin feels 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:06.059 like a man who refused to stay in his lane. That 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.730 is the big takeaway. He refused to separate his 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:10.950 art from his convictions. In the modern world, 00:17:11.029 --> 00:17:13.170 we talk a lot about staying in your lane. Athletes 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:15.210 shouldn't talk politics. Actors should just act. 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:17.950 Right. Bin is the antithesis of that. He wasn't 00:17:17.950 --> 00:17:19.869 just a painter and he wasn't just a politician. 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:23.309 He was both, fully, all the time. He painted 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:25.309 ceilings for the Hotel du Louvre to make a living. 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:28.029 But he refused the emperor's money to keep his 00:17:28.029 --> 00:17:30.609 soul. And he paid the price for it. He lost his 00:17:30.609 --> 00:17:32.970 political career because of a painting. It's 00:17:32.970 --> 00:17:35.980 a reminder that historical figures are... rarely 00:17:35.980 --> 00:17:38.019 one -dimensional. We look at a painting of a 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:41.440 nymph in a museum and we think, stuffy old academic 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.460 painter. We don't realize that the hand holding 00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:47.890 the brush also held a rifle on a barricade. It 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:49.890 really makes you wonder about the intent versus 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:52.950 the consequence. How so? Well, Ben claimed he 00:17:52.950 --> 00:17:55.230 was fired because of a political rival manipulating 00:17:55.230 --> 00:17:57.490 the narrative around that portrait of General 00:17:57.490 --> 00:18:00.430 Belanger. Right. The fake news of the 19th century. 00:18:00.710 --> 00:18:03.390 Exactly. In today's world of media manipulation 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:06.309 and cancel culture, how different is Ben's story 00:18:06.309 --> 00:18:08.829 from modern political scandals? It's remarkably 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:11.470 similar. Was the portrait of Belanger actually 00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:14.069 an endorsement? Did he secretly support the coup? 00:18:14.190 --> 00:18:16.829 Or was it just a painting? We will never truly 00:18:16.829 --> 00:18:19.150 know his intent. We can only see the consequence. 00:18:19.490 --> 00:18:22.410 A career ended because an image was weaponized. 00:18:22.549 --> 00:18:25.190 A sobering thought to leave you with. Next time 00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:27.210 you see a portrait, ask yourself, is it just 00:18:27.210 --> 00:18:30.549 art or is it evidence? Thanks for diving deep 00:18:30.549 --> 00:18:32.130 with us today. A pleasure as always.