A life shaped by borders and streets

Lazar Meyer arrived in Paris from Fegersheim following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The occupation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German Empire had prompted him to move with his brother, Léopold, seeking a different life in the 18th arrondissement. His early years in the city were marked by the heavy atmosphere of the Commune. He served as a secretary for a section during those turbulent days and faced arrest and imprisonment near the Île de Ré. Though he was nearly deported, the court eventually acquitted him because he had not taken up arms.

He settled into a quiet routine in Paris, marrying Louise Albertine Macé in 1880. Together they raised three children: Éva, Léa, and Israël Maurice. While his personal life took root in the city, his professional path was built through steady study and teaching. He learned under Alexandre Laemlein, Alexandre Cabanel, and Émile Lévy. Later, he shared this knowledge as a drawing teacher at Lycée Condorcet.

The brush and the ceramic tile

His work often focused on the intimate details of daily life and the changing face of his surroundings. He was a painter of genre scenes and portraits, showing a particular skill for capturing the texture of silk in a dress or the quiet weight of a family scene. Some of his pieces, like Kaddish pour les morts, carry a heavy, somber tone. He also looked toward the landscape, documenting the hills and thickets of Montmartre before they were transformed by urban expansion.

Beyond the canvas, Meyer worked with different materials to leave a mark on the city itself. In collaboration with the earthenware maker Jules Paul Loebnitz, he helped create large ceramic panels for the 1878 Universal Exhibition. These pieces, titled L'Architecture, La Peinture, and La Sculpture, were based on drawings by Émile Lévy. They eventually found a place on the facade of the former Loebnitz earthenware factory.

His contributions to the art scene included:

• Exhibiting at the Paris Salon between 1870 and 1882.
• Capturing the landscape of Montmartre, such as in Le Maquis de Montmartre vu de la rue Caulaincourt en 1903.
• Creating works that documented the era of the Second Empire.
• Developing a style that placed him among the early painters of Montmartre and a precursor to the School of Paris.

The later years of his life saw the loss of much of his physical output. During the Second World War, several of his works were destroyed or vandalized. He remained in Paris until his death on January 28, 1935.