Léon Comerre's most famous painting is Le déluge. With Danae And The Shower Of Gold and Le déluge (ébauche), it completes the three works everyone recognises. Our catalogue lists 46 works by Léon Comerre; the 46 below are the ones the world looks at most, each with its year, the museum that holds it and why it matters.
Ranked by our popularity score, which combines the searches, visits and orders for each work. Updated October 2026. Every masterpiece on this page can be ordered as a museum-quality, hand-painted oil reproduction or a fine art print, at the size you choose.
The scene unfolds through Le déluge, a powerful work by the French painter Léon Comerre. Created about 1911, this large-scale canvas captures a moment of profound upheaval. The air feels heavy with the weight of the storm as the narrative of the biblical story of Noah's Flood takes shape before the eyes. It is a vision of survival and struggle amidst the rising waters.
In this oil painting, we find ourselves in a private, intimate chamber where the boundaries between the mortal and the divine begin to dissolve. The subject is Danae, a figure from Greco-Roman mythology, captured in a moment of profound transformation. She lies upon a bed, her form draped in soft sheets and blankets that suggest a quiet, secluded sanctuary. Above her, the air is no longer empty; instead, it is…
The four subjects that return most often among these masterpieces, with the finest example of each.
The 5 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Léon Comerre | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Petit Palais |
Paris | 17 | Pierrot, Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton in a Black Dress, Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton |
 Musée d'Orsay |
Paris | 1 | Pierrot playing the mandolin |
 Carnavalet Museum |
Paris | 1 | Portrait of Raphaël Duflos (1857-1946), member of the Comédie-Française, in the role of Don Carlos from Hernani |
 Musée Des Beaux |
Strasbourg | 1 | Portrait Of The Artist's Wife |
 Musée d'Arts de Nantes |
Nantes | 1 | Le Deluge |
Le déluge. Next come Danae And The Shower Of Gold and Le déluge (ébauche).
Le déluge, Danae And The Shower Of Gold, Le déluge (ébauche), Pierrot, Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton in a Black Dress, Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, Self-Portrait, Sketch for the Hall of Festivities of the Mairie du 4ème: Fortune and Abundance, Sketch for the Hall of Festivities of the Mairie du 4ème: Destiny and Sketch for the Mairie du 4ème: The Study of Sciences and Arts. The ranking above gives the year and the museum of each.
Our catalogue lists 46 works by Léon Comerre, dated from 1879 to 1914.
Most of them are in Petit Palais (Paris), Musée d'Orsay (Paris) and Carnavalet Museum (Paris). The table above lists the museums one by one.
In 1880s: 11 of the 46 works on this page date from then, among them Pierrot.
The earliest on this page is Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton in a Black Dress (1879), the latest Poiret's Cap (1914).
Women (4), Romance (3) and Portrait (3), among the 46 works on this page.
Romanticism, as the paintings on this page show.
Pierrot, Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton in a Black Dress and Portrait of Jacqueline Comerre-Paton are among the 17 works on this page held by the Petit Palais, Paris.
Yes. Every painting on this page can be ordered as a museum-quality, hand-painted oil reproduction or a fine art print, in the size you choose, from the painting's own page.
Léon François Comerre (1850-1916) stands as a prominent figure in French Academic painting, celebrated primarily for his exquisitely rendered portraits of women—particularly those embodying youthful beauty—and his evocative depictions of Oriental landscapes and figures. His artistic legacy resides not merely in technical skill but also in the stylistic conventions that defined the Belle Époque, cementing his place within the broader panorama of 19th-century art history. Born in Trélon, Nord département, Comerre’s formative years were steeped in a modest upbringing shaped by his father's role as a schoolteacher. However, from a young age, he possessed an undeniable passion for artistic pursuits, nurtured by encouragement at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lille where he excelled under Alphonse Colas, securing a prestigious gold medal in 1867.
This early success foreshadowed a trajectory toward Parisian artistic excellence, facilitated by a generous grant from the Nord département allowing him to pursue his studies at the École nationale supérieure des des beaux-arts—a pivotal institution under the tutelage of Alexandre Cabanel. Cabanel’s influence proved decisive, introducing Comerre to the burgeoning field of Orientalism, a movement that sought to capture the allure and grandeur of distant lands through artistic representation. This academic foundation provided him with the tools to master light, texture, and form, allowing him to transition from a student of tradition to a master of atmosphere.
Comerre debuted at the Paris Salon in 1871, establishing himself as an emerging talent within the Parisian art world. Subsequent victories at the Salon in 1875 and 1881 solidified his reputation and garnered him considerable acclaim. Notably, he achieved monumental recognition with the Grand Prix de Rome awarded for “L’ange annonçant aux bergers la naissance du Christ” (The Angel Announcing the Birth of Christ), propelling him to a scholarship at the French Academy in Rome from January 1876 to December 1876. This period of study in Italy further refined his classical sensibilities, blending the rigorous discipline of French training with the timeless aesthetic of the Italian masters.
His body of work is characterized by a remarkable versatility that allowed him to navigate between different genres with ease:
Beyond his individual technical achievements, Comerre’s life was intertwined with the very fabric of the French art scene. His marriage to Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, a talented painter and sculptor herself, created a domestic sphere steeped in creativity and academic rigor. Together, they represented the sophisticated artistic lineage of the late 19th century. As the Belle Époque progressed, Comerre’s work remained a steadfast pillar of beauty, offering a sense of romanticism and stability amidst a rapidly changing world.
The historical significance of Léon François Comerre lies in his role as a custodian of the Academic tradition during a period of intense artistic experimentation. While Impressionism began to challenge the established order, Comerre continued to refine the art of the idealized form and narrative clarity. His paintings remain timeless windows into an era of opulence, grace, and a profound fascination with the exotic, ensuring that his vision of beauty continues to captivate collectors and art historians alike.
