(b Lyon, 14 Oct 1808; d Ecully, 3 July 1860). French painter and designer. In his youth he attended the studio of François Lepage (1796–1871), a famous Lyonnais flower painter, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon where he was awarded various prizes, culminating in a gold medal in 1826 at the flower design class of Augustin-Alexandre Thierriat (1789–1870). The following year he began exhibiting flower-pieces at the Lyon Salon, including the watercolour Roses (Amsterdam, Stedel. Mus.). At this time he was employed by the Didier-Petit textile company, for which he produced floral fabric designs of considerable skill, notably a bouquet of roses depicted with great botanical accuracy against a white background. He was awarded a third-class medal for his oil painting Flowers in a Hat Hanging from the Branch of an Oak Tree (Rouen, Mus. B.-A.), at the Paris Salon of 1835. In 1837 he married and his wife’s dowry meant that he could pursue a career as an artist and teacher. A remarkable portrait of her, The Flower Girl (Lyon, Mus. B.-A.), was a great success at the Paris Salon of 1838 and was purchased by the State for the Lyon museum. In it he successfully combined the female form with large bouquets of flowers which span the seasons. Jean-Pierre Läys (1825–87), Saint-Jean’s servant and pupil, recorded that his master could take two days to paint a single rose. Drawings were, therefore, essential to his working method. Typically, he would submit a small pencil sketch for his client’s approval, which would then be worked up into a small oil sketch, and finally an enlarged version.