Louis Abel-Truchet (29 December 1857 9 September 1918) was a French painter and
poster artist
''Affichiste'' is the French word for a poster artist or poster designer, a graphic designer of posters.
Etymology
The name first appeared around 1780, but with a different meaning. It meant one involved in a poster's production and distributi ...
. He was known for landscapes,
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 ...
scenes and depictions of Parisian nightlife.
Biography
He was a student of
Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant
Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (also known as Benjamin-Constant), born Jean-Joseph Constant (10 June 1845 – 26 May 1902), was a French painter and etcher best known for his Oriental subjects and portraits.
Biography
Benjamin-Constant was bor ...
and
Jules Lefebvre
Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist.
Early life
Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Be ...
at the
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...
. His first exhibition came in 1891. He was one of the first exhibitors at the
Salon d'Automne
The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...
in 1903. He and created the "Société des humoristes" in 1907.
In 1910, he became a member of the
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions.
1862
Es ...
. The following year, he was named a Knight in the
Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
.
In addition to his artistic works, he created designs for public festivities, notably the satirical of 1896 and 1897; designing floats for the
Cabaret des Quat'z'Arts.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he served as a volunteer with the rank of Lieutenant in the (Engineering). The army made use of his skills as a painter by appointing him as an assistant to
Guirand de Scevola, head of the newly created
Camouflage Division. He initially worked in Paris, helping to organize the central workshop. During this time, he continued to work as an artist, drawing caricatures for ''
Le Petit Journal''.
Shortly before the end of the war, he was wounded and died at a military hospital in Auxerre. In 1919, his works were part of an exhibit at the Salon d'Automne, honoring artists who had died in the war.
After his death, his widow, the painter , took over his workshop in
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
and became a portrait painter.
[André Roussard, ''Dictionnaire des peintres à Montmartre'', Paris, 1999, pg. 23 ]
His works may be seen at the ,
Musée de Grenoble
The Museum of Grenoble (french: Musée de Grenoble) is a municipal museum of Fine Arts and antiquities in the city of Grenoble in the Isère region of France.
Located on the left bank of the Isère River, place Lavalette, it is known both for ...
,
Musée d'art moderne André-Malraux,
Musée Carnavalet
The Musée Carnavalet in Paris is dedicated to the history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, the civil servant wh ...
and the . A street in the
17th arrondissement of Paris
The 17th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le dix-septième'' (; "the seventeenth").
The arrondissement, known as Batignoll ...
is named after him.
References
Further reading
* Cécile Coutin, ''Tromper l'ennemi : l'invention du camouflage moderne en 1914-1918'', Éditions Pierre de Taillac, 2012
External links
More works by Abel-Truchet@ ArtNet
Posters by Abel-Truchet@
Gallica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abel-Truchet, Louis
1857 births
1918 deaths
19th-century French painters
French poster artists
French genre painters
Académie Julian
Artists from Versailles
French military personnel killed in World War I
20th-century French painters
French Army officers
Camoufleurs
Recipients of the Legion of Honour