Léonard Saurfelt, le Baptème, circa 1880

The term "French painter little masters" found his consecration with the "Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la Peinture 1820-1920" Gerard Schurr and Pierre Cabanne.
The term applies, wrongly and rightly, to a plethora of artists active in the late nineteenth century, for whom art history has not yet found a box.

But who are they?
Do you know Edmond Coppenolle, Jules Coignet, Pierre Ballue, Charles Beauverie,Eugene Henri Cauchois, Leon Francis Comerre, Jules Herve, Jean Charles Cazin, Leon Richet, Maurice Levy, Albert Sorkau or Eugene Pechaubes, Léonard Saurfelt, Edmond Yon?

Edmond Yon, la Seine à Lavacourt, circa 1870

So many painters so called "little masters" but still exhibited in prestigious museums ....

In fact, three major waves in the history of art helped to overshadow many other painters.
The first of these waves, the Barbizon School, included Corot, Rousseau and Millet, followed by the impressionism and the great modern such as Picasso and Matisse.

Eugéne Péchaubes, chasse à courre, circa 1930

 
Ultimately, should we not better buy a painting for the quality of its painting and not the name of the artist?
Should we not better buy a painting of a less famous painter  than a failed one by a famous artist?

As per media, they only talk about Monet, Renoir, Chagall, Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec and they are partly responsible for passing into oblivion many of our French artists.

Henri Cauchois, bouquet de fleurs, circa 1895