Early Life, Family and Training Jean-André Rixens was born in Saint-Gaudens, France, on 30 November 1846. He grew up in a household where his father worked as a master shoemaker, a practical trade that stood in quiet contrast to the artistic path his son would eventually follow. After finishing his basic education, Jean-André Rixens moved toward formal training, enrolling in 1860 at the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Toulouse. During these early years, he had to support himself, finding work by painting commercial signs and making copies of existing artworks to pay his tuition. His tale…