The Quiet Elegance of Paul Flandrin In the grand, sweeping narrative of nineteenth-century French art, certain names resonate with thunderous fame, while others provide the essential, delicate textures that give the era its depth. Paul Jean Flandrin belongs to that second, more intimate category. Born in Lyon on May 28, 1811, he emerged from a family deeply rooted in the visual arts, the younger brother of the celebrated painters Augu…