Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois, also known as Gustave Courtois (; 18 May 1852 in

Pusey, Haute-Saône Pusey () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regi ...

– 23 November 1923 in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

) was a French

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, a representative of the academic style of art.

Early life and education

Sulking - Gustave Courtois in his Studio by Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

COURTOIS Gustave Claude Etienne - YOUNG FLORENTIN PLAYING WITH CATS

Courtois was born 18 May 1852 in

, France to an unwed mother who was devoted to him. Early in life, Courtois revealed an interest in art and entered the ''École municipale de dessin'' in

Vesoul Vesoul ( ) is a Communes of France, commune in the predominantly rural Haute-Saône department, of which it is the Prefectures in France, prefecture, or capital, in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern Franc ...

(

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

). His drawings were shown to

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

, and in 1869, Gérôme encouraged Courtois to enter the ''

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

'' in Paris. Courtois was in close friendship with fellow student

Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (7 January 1852 – 3 July 1929) was a French painter, one of the leading members of the naturalist school. Biography He was born in Paris, the son of a tailor, and was raised by his grandfather after hi ...

, with whom he maintained a fashionable studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine from the 1880s.

Career

Courtois taught painting at

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière () is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the A ...

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

in Paris, where Harriet Campbell Foss,

Eva Bonnier Eva Fredrika Bonnier (17 November 1857 – 13 January 1909) was a Swedish painter and philanthropist. __TOC__ Biography Born in Stockholm as the daughter of publisher Albert Bonnier and a member of a leading family of publishers, Bonnier st ...

, Emma Cheves Wilkins, and

Dora Hitz Dora Hitz (30 March 1856, Altdorf bei Nürnberg - 20 November 1924, Berlin) was a Court Painter to the Romanian Royal Family, a member of the November Group and co-founder of the Berlin Secession. Life When she was six years old, her family ...

were students. Courtois exhibited at the ''Salon de Paris'', receiving a third-place medal in 1878 and a second-place medal in 1880. He was awarded a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889 and exhibited at the ''Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts'' from 1911 to 1914. His paintings can be seen in the art galleries of Besançon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Luxembourg. He was a

Chevalier of the Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Among his students were Willard Dryden Paddock,

Mary Rose Hill Burton Mary Rose Hill Burton (10 July 1859 – 5 June 1900) was a British artist and conservationist. She was active in the failed protests against the location of a smelting plant at the Falls of Foyers, near Loch Ness, in Inverness-shire. Early life ...

, and

Sara Page Sara Wells Page (1855–1943) was a British artist, portrait and figurative painter, of the Victorian and Edwardian period. During her lifetime she was widely exhibited at Parisian salons and British galleries, including the Royal Academy of Ar ...

. Gustave Courtois was a close friend of the Finnish artist

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish Painting, painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realism (arts), Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visib ...

. They lived in the same studio building 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 ...

, socialized daily, shared many artistic ideals and supported each other in their work.

References

Sources

*Robert Fernier. ''Gustave Courtois: 1852-1923'', 1943. *Gabriel P. Weisberg. ''Against the Modern: Dagnan-Bouveret and the Transformation of the Academic Tradition'', 2002.

External links

"Gustave Claude Etienne Courtois"
''Artnet''
"The New Bonnet"
''Christies'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtois, Gustave-Claude-Etienne 1852 births 1923 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists École des Beaux-Arts alumni People from Vesoul Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Académie Colarossi alumni 19th-century French male artists