
Godefroy Durand (1832,
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
– 27 September 1896,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
) was a German-born French
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
and draughtsman, who worked in both France and Great Britain.
Life
Durand was born in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
to French parents. He trained in Paris under the painter
Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794 – 20 November 1880) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with more than one hundred notable students.
Biography
He was born in Paris. His father was a painter ...
, and then worked in Paris in the 1860s for many of the leading French illustrated newspapers of the time, including ''
L'Univers Illustré,'' ''
L'Illustration
''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, after 1906, the f ...
'' (1864), ''
Le Monde Illustré
''Le Monde illustré'' (title translation: ''The Illustrated World'') was a leading illustrated news magazine in France which was published from 1857–1940 and again from 1945 to 1956. It was in many ways similar to its contemporary English ...
'' (1870) and ''
Le Journal Illustré''. He also had work published in the ''
Illustrated News of the World
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...
'' in 1859. He moved permanently to London in 1869 to take up full-time illustrative work for the newly established illustrated weekly newspaper ''
The Graphic
''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...
'', where he became a "special artist." The obituary by his former employer noted how he had been with the British newspaper "from its inception" on 4 December 1869 for several decades until the 1890s. He exhibited ''Un Coup de Canon'' (1870) at the Suffolk Street Gallery, London in a mixed 'Exhibition for the Benefit of the Distressed Peasantry of France' held to raise funds for those affected by the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. His watercolour ''Siege of Paris, 1871 Montmartre during the sortie of January 19th'' was shown at the
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.
History
The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...
in London in 1873. One of his Franco-Prussian War illustrations was republished in the newly launched Belgian weekly newspaper ''
L'Illustration Européenne'' in 1870. He died in Paris in 1896.
Archives de Paris, acte de décès n°2122 dressé le 28/09/1896, vue 3 / 28
/ref>
Works
Drawings by Durand are held by the Royal Collection and the William Morris Gallery, London.
References
*Rodney K. Engen, ''Dictionary of Victorian Wood Engravers'' (1985), p. 78.
External links
Godefroy Durand (Biographical details) (britishmuseum.org)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durand, Godefroy
1832 births
1896 deaths
French illustrators
19th-century French illustrators
Artists from Düsseldorf