Raymond Emmanuel Woog (25 October 1875,

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 ...

- 10 May 1949,

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, designer and illustrator.

Biography

He was a student of

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

. In 1903, he was one of the exhibitors at the first Salon d'Automne, where he received critical praise from

Arsène Alexandre Arsène Alexandre (16 August 1859 – 1 October 1937) was a French art critic. He was a contributor to ''L'Événement'', ''Le Paris'' and ''L'Éclair'' and in 1894 was one of the founders of the satirical journal ''Le Rire'', becoming its arti ...

. Two years later, he married Violette Julie Picard (1882-1968), whose father was a businessman. They had four daughters. In 1912, following the death of Jules Comte, founder of the ', Woog took over as provisional manager of the publication. This was interrupted in 1914, at the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The following year, he was inducted, and spent six months in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. Upon being promoted to Lieutenant, he was posted as an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. His sketches of English and French soldiers were published in 1916, as 32 plates in a canvas portfolio. It was a limited edition of 150 copies, with the title "Passed by Censor".''Raymond Woog, l'officier-artiste basé au Havre''
archives municipales du Havre. He was mustered out early in 1918. He began his career as an illustrator with a cover for the novel, ', by

André Maurois André Maurois (; born Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog; 26 July 1885 – 9 October 1967) was a French author. Biography Maurois was born on 26 July 1885 in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. A member of ...

, who also served with British troops during the war. Woog is said to have been the inspiration for the novel's narrator, "Aurelle", a French interpreter. This served as his entry into the milieu of the

press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...

, where he became a good friend of the journalist, . He would soon be a recognized illustrator for several publications. In 1928, he travelled to New York, for an exhibition of his works at the

Jacques Seligmann Jacques (Jacob) Seligmann (18 September 1858, in Frankfurt-am-Main – 30 October 1923, in Paris) was a highly successful antiquarian and art dealer with businesses in both Paris and New York. He was one of the first to foster American interest in ...

gallery. Curiously, his reputation in the United States appears to have been based on his portraits of children. He did, in fact, perform several such commissions while there, but also painted portraits of notable people, such as

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

.Jean Oudin, ''Raymond Woog'', Éditions de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, 1960. From 1933 to 1934, he was a regular collaborator with ''

Les Nouvelles littéraires ''Les Nouvelles littéraires'' was a French literary and artistic newspaper created in October 1922 by the Éditions Larousse. It disappeared in 1985 after having taken the title '. History ''Les Nouvelles littéraires'' were headed by from 192 ...

''. He made many long stays in

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

, where he specialized in painting flowers; a theme he would return to when he retired in 1940 and settled in Crest. He was named a Knight in 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1947.Documentation
@ the

Base Léonore ''Base Léonore'', or the Léonore database, is a French database that lists the records of the members of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. The database lists the records of those inducted into the Legion of Honor The National Or ...

Selected paintings

Woog-Clemenceau.jpg,

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...

(c.1925) Woog-Globe.jpg, Infant with Globe File:Ww1-09 par Raymond Woog.jpg, Sketches from ''Passed by Censor'' Woog-Conversation.jpg, The Conversation Woog-Casals.jpg,

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Anatole Le Braz Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector, and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and was known for his warmth and charm. Biograph ...

, ''Raymond Woog'', Paris, Éditions Galerie Georges Petit, 1913. * Noël Clément-Janin, ''Les estampes, images et affiches de la guerre'', Paris, Éditions Gazette des beaux-arts, 1919. * André Maurois, ''Raymond Woog'', New York, Éditions Galerie Jacques Seligmann, 1928. * Jean Oudin, ''Raymond Woog'', Éditions de la Société nationale des beaux-arts, 1960.

External links

More works by Woog
@ Invaluable {{DEFAULTSORT:Woog, Raymond 1875 births 1949 deaths 19th-century French painters French illustrators French portrait painters Recipients of the Legion of Honour Painters from Paris 20th-century French painters