Tony Johannot


Antoine Johannot, known commonly as Tony Johannot, was a French engraver, illustrator and painter.

Biography

He was born in Offenbach am Main. His father, François Johannot, owned a silk factory in Germany, where the family had fled after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was a painter who was involved in the development of lithography in France. The two older brothers of Tony, Charles and Alfred, were engravers, and Alfred also worked as a painter and draughtsman. Tony learnt engraving from his brothers and helped Alfred produce illustrations of books by James Fenimore Cooper and Walter Scott. Tony came to prefer wood-engraving, but resumed etching in 1845.
His historical paintings were exhibited at the Paris Salon for the first time in 1831.
He became an illustrator much prized for his elegance, his diversity, and the lively character of his drawings, which were converted to engravings either by himself or by such artists as Jacques Adrien Lavieille, Émile Montigneul, and Alfred Revel. He was praised by Théophile Gautier:
Johannot died in Paris on 4 August 1852.

Works