Count Armand Doria (1824-1896) was a French aristocrat, art collector and patron. He served as the mayor of

Orrouy Orrouy () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. See also *Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 680 Communes of France, communes of the Oise Departments of France, department of France. The commun ...

from 1864 to 1896. He acquired a significant collection of

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

works, including paintings subsequently exhibited in museums in Europe and the United States.

Early life

Count Armand-François-Paul des Friches Doria was born on April 24, 1824, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. His father, Stanislas-Philippe-Henri Doria, was a

marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

, which title his elder brother, Arthur, inherited. His paternal family was ennobled in 1539, during the ''

ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

''. Count Doria grew up in the family castle in Cayeux-en-Santerre and a ''

hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

'' on the '' rue de la Perle'' in

Le Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...

, Paris. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, and confessed to

Félix Dupanloup Félix Antoine Philibert Dupanloup (3 January 180211 October 1878) was a French Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Orléans from 1849 to 1878. He was among the leaders of Liberal Catholicism in France. Biography Dupanloup was born at Sai ...

Career

Count Doria served as the mayor of

from 1864 to 1896. During the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870, he encouraged local inhabitants to enlist in the French army and protected the town from the Prussian invaders. Count Doria was conservative, and he was influenced by the works of

Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...

Louis Gabriel Ambroise de Bonald Louis Gabriel Ambroise, Vicomte de Bonald (; 2 October 1754 – 23 November 1840) was a French counter-revolutionary philosopher and politician. He is mainly remembered for developing a theoretical framework from which French sociology would em ...

and

Antoine Eugène Genoud Antoine Eugène Genoud (1792–1849) was a French theologian and politician. Early life Antoine Eugène Genoud was born on 9 February 1792 in Montélimar, France. He was educated in Grenoble. Career Genoud was a Roman Catholic theologian. He ser ...

. Count Doria was a patron of the arts and art collector. For example, he was a patron to

Adolphe-Félix Cals Adolphe-Félix Cals (17 October 1810 – 3 October 1880) was a French portrait, genre, and landscape painter. Life and work Adolphe–Félix Cals was born into a poor family, yet his parents attempted to prevent him from performing manual labor ...

, who stayed in his castle for an extended period of time. Other long-term guests were Gustave-Henri Colin and Victor Vignon. Count Doria also invited

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...

and

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

. Count Doria was the owner of ''The Roman Campagna, with the Claudian Aqueduct'', an 1826 painting by Corot which is now in the permanent collection of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Another Corot painting, ''View of Olevano'', is at the

Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. He purchased many more paintings by Corot over the years. He was also the owner of ''La Leçon de tricot'' by

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

. Another Millet painting he owned, ''View of Farm Buildings across a Field'', is now in the collection of the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. Additionally, Count Doria owned ''La maison du pendu'' by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

, but he exchanged it with art collector

Victor Chocquet Victor Chocquet (; 9 December 1821 – 7 April 1891) was a French art collector and an ardent propagandist of Impressionism. As a senior editor at the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes, he was present at all the exhibitions where ...

for another Cézanne painting, ''La Neige fondante''. He also owned ''Les Grands boulevards'' by

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

, which is now in the collection of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

. Count Doria also mentored

Léon-Honoré Labande Léon-Honoré Labande (1867-1939) was a French museum curator, historian and archivist. He was the curator of the Calvet Museum in Avignon from 1890 to 1906. He was the archivist of the Prince's Palace of Monaco from 1906 to 1939. He was the auth ...

, who served as the archivist of the

Prince's Palace of Monaco The Prince's Palace of Monaco (; ) is the official residence of the Monarchy of Monaco, Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Republic of Genoa, Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and bes ...

from 1906 to 1939.

Personal life

Count Doria married Marie-Berthe de Villiers, the daughter of Prudent-Léopold de Villiers and Elizabeth Poulletier de Suzenet, in 1854. They resided at the Château d'Orrouy, owned by his grandparents, in

, Oise, Picardy. They had a son, François Doria, and a daughter, Marie-Luce. His wife died four years into their marriage. His daughter died when she was twenty years old.

Death

Count Doria died on May 7, 1896. He was buried in Orrouy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doria, Armand 1824 births 1896 deaths Art collectors from Paris People from Oise Counts of France Mayors of places in Hauts-de-France