Eugenè Burnand | Apostles Peter and John hurry to the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection, 1898 | Masterpiece

"Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple [John], and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes" - John 20:3-10.

Charles Louis Eugène Burnand (1850-1921) was a Swiss painter and illustrator from Moudon, Switzerland. Born of prosperous parents who taught him to appreciate art and the countryside, he first trained as an architect but quickly realised his vocation was painting.

His later years were spent in Paris where he died a celebrated and well respected artist both in Switzerland and France. He was primarily a realist painter of nature. Most of his works were of rural scenes, often with animals, the depiction of which he was a master. He increasingly painted human figures and by the end of his career could be called a portraitist whose skill revealing character was profound.

He studied art in Geneva and Paris then settled in Versailles. In the course of his life he travelled widely and lived at various times in Florence, Montpellier, Seppey (Moudon) and Neuchâtel.

A deeply religious man, his Protestant beliefs led him to include more religious works that he put his stamp of realism on, and he became best known in Europe for his illustrations of "The Parables", that was published in French, German and English versions over four decades.

His works are now widely distributed in museums and private collections throughout the world and in his own dedicated museum in Moudon.

His final project was a series of 104 pastel portraits of allied WW1 participants of all nationalities that was incomplete when he died; a unique body of work that was subsequently published as a book in 1922 and recently republished in 2010.

Eugene Burnand was a good living family man who kept detailed records of his life and work that facilitate a thorough understanding of his methods and motives. He, his wife Julia and family of eight children, including two sets of twins, moved with him as his work took him around France and Switzerland.

His traditional style ensured a conventional appreciation that he and his family enjoyed, but brought some criticism and conflict with contemporaries who were embracing modern art.

Burnand was greatly influenced by artists such as Jean-François Millet and Gustave Courbet. This is reflected in perhaps his best known work, The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection 1898, which hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Awards

1875 - Honourable mention at the Concours Calame, Genève;

1882 - 3rd class medal for the etchings for Mireille;

1883 - 3rd class medals for the illustrations of Contes choisis by Alphonse Daudet;

1889 - 1st class gold medal;

1900 - 1st class gold medal for his collected works.

Decorations, titles and distinctions

1889 - President of the Swiss Fine Arts Commission at the 1889 International Exhibition of Fine Arts, Paris;

1893 - Legion of Honour Chevalier of the Legion of Honour;

1912 - Correspondant member of the Institut de France;

1919 - Legion of Honour Officer of the Legion of Honour.