Auguste Toulmouche (21 September 1829 – 16 October 1890) was a French painter known for his luxurious

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

paintings of upper middle class Parisian women in domestic scenes.

Biography

Auguste Toulmouche was born in Nantes to Émile Toulmouche, a well-to-do broker, and Rose Sophie Mercier. He studied drawing and sculpture locally with the sculptor Amédée Ménard and painting with the portraitist Biron before moving to Paris in 1846 to study with the painter

Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including H ...

. He was said to be one of Gleyre's favored students, and he exhibited his first paintings at the Paris Salon in 1848 when he was just 19. He exhibited again in 1849 and 1850, at which time he was specializing in portraits. Rose_Caron,_by_Auguste_Toulmouche

Toulmouche painted in an idealizing version of the dominant academic realist style, and his subjects were frequently Parisian women who belonged to the upper bourgeoisie. His work was popular in both France and America, and the emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

bought one of his paintings, ''La fille'' (The Girl), for his future empress Eugénie in 1852, with further purchases by the imperial family the following year confirming Toulmouche's status as a fashionable painter. He was generally approved by critics, winning medals at the Paris Salon in 1852 and 1861, and he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1870. During his heyday, his reputation was comparable to that of artists like Alfred Stevens and Carolus-Duran. However, with their emphasis on sumptuous clothing and richly furnished domestic interiors, his paintings were also dismissed by some critics as "elegant trifles", and the writer

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

referred somewhat dismissively to the "delicious dolls of Toulmouche". With the rise of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in the 1870s, his popularity suffered a decline from which it never recovered. By his 1861 marriage to Marie Lecadre, daughter of Nantes lawyer Alphonse Henri Lecadre, Toulmouche became a cousin by marriage of the painter

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

. Toulmouche sent the young Monet to study with Gleyre. In 1870, Toulmouche joined one of the battalions defending Paris against the German invasion in the Franco-Prussian War. After the war ended, he spent more time at the Abbey of Blanche Couronne near Nantes, which was part of a large estate inherited by his wife on the death of her father. He built a workshop on the abbey grounds and invited many Parisian friends to spend time there, including

Geneviève Halévy Marie-Geneviève Raphaëlle Halévy-Bizet-Straus (26 February 1849 – 22 December 1926) was a French salonnière who was the wife of Georges Bizet. She inspired Marcel Proust as a model for the Duchesse de Guermantes and Odette de Crécy in '' ...

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna ...

Paul Baudry Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Elie Delaunay,

Ernest Reyer Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer (1 December 1823 – 15 January 1909) was a French opera composer and music critic. Biography Ernest Reyer was born in Marseille. His father, a notary, did not want his son to take up a career in music. However, he ...

, and the young

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

. Toulmouche died suddenly in Paris following an episode of syncope, and he is buried at Montparnasse Cemetery. Much of his work is still in private collections, but the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the

Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European and American paintings, sculp ...

, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, hold examples of his work.

Gallery

File:A Bedtime Prayer 2008 NYR 01984.jpg, A Bedtime Prayer, 1858 File:Toulmouche Bride.jpg, The Reluctant Bride (''La Fiancée Hésitante''), 1866 File:Auguste Toulmouche - The Love Letter, 1863.jpg, ''La lettre d'amour'', 1863 File:Toulmouche Glance 1868.jpg, The Admiring Glance, 1868 File:Toulmouche_Le_Baiser.jpg, ''Le Baiser'', File:Toulmouche, Auguste- "La Robe bleue".jpg, ''Le robe bleu'', File:Toulmouche young woman in an interior.jpg, Young Woman in an Interior, File:Auguste toulmouche-vanity.jpg, Vanity, File:Auguste Toulmouche Dans la Bibliothèque.jpg, In the Library (''Dans la Bibliothèque''), 1872 File:Auguste Toulmouche - An Afternoon Idyll.jpg, ''L'Idylle'' (An Afternoon Idyll), 1874 File:Toulmouche-auguste tranquil-afternoon.jpg, A Tranquil Afternoon, File:Toulmouche Dolce far niente.jpg, ''Dolce far niente'', 1877 File:"The Love Letter" by Auguste Toulmouche.jpg, The Love Letter, 1883 File:Auguste Toulmouche - Daydreams.jpg, ''Rêveries'', 1890

External links

Works of Toulmouche at Artrenewal.org

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulmouche, Auguste 19th-century French painters French male painters Academic art Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 1829 births 1890 deaths 19th-century French male artists