Léon François Comerre (10 October 1850 – 20 February 1916) was a French

academic painter Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...

, famous for his portraits of beautiful women and Oriental themes.

Life

Comerre was born in

Trélon Trélon () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Trélon forms the western edge of the Calestienne region. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord depar ...

, in the

Département du Nord Nord (; officially french: département du Nord; pcd, départémint dech Nord; nl, Noorderdepartement, ) is a department in Hauts-de-France region, France bordering Belgium. It was created from the western halves of the historical counties of ...

, the son of a schoolteacher. He moved to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

with his family in 1853. From an early age he showed an interest in art and became a student of Alphonse Colas at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lille, winning a gold medal in 1867. From 1868 a grant from the Département du Nord allowed him to continue his studies in Paris at the famous

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

in the studio of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. According to ''Diccionario Enciclopedi ...

. There he came under the influence of

orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

. Comerre first exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

in 1871 and went on to win prizes there in 1875 and 1881. In 1875, he won the

Grand Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

for his painting "''L’Ange annonçant aux bergers la naissance du Christ''" (The Angel announcing the birth of Christ to the shepherds). This led to a scholarship at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 1 ...

from January 1876 to December 1879. In 1885 he won a prize at the "Exposition Universelle" in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. He also won prestigious art prizes in the USA (1876) and Australia (1881 and 1897). He became a Knight of the

Legion of Honour 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 1903. He exhibited in London at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

and the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissio ...

, and in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

at the

Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibitio ...

.Short Biog
(Jeffery Winter Fine Arts). In 1884, he moved to Vésinet, a suburb of Paris, where he remained until his death in 1916. His wife

Jacqueline Comerre-Paton Jacqueline Comerre, née Paton (1 May 1859 – 1955) was a French painter and sculptor, and the wife of the painter Léon-François Comerre (1850-1916). Comerre-Paton was born in Paris. Her mother was Émilie-Thérèse Paton (1820 - 1887), kno ...

was also a painter. His nephew was the renowned artist

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

. A catalogue raisonné of Comerre's work was published in 1980 by Les Presses Artistiques, Paris.

Major works

*1875: ''L'Annonce aux bergers'' *1878:'' Jézabel dévorée par les chiens'' *1878: ''Junon'' *1879: ''Le Lion amoureux'' *1880: ''Portrait de Jeune Fille'' *1881: ''Samson et Dalila'' *1882: ''Albine morte'' *1882: ''L' Étoile'' *1883: ''Silène et les Bacchantes'' *1883: ''Portrait de Mademoiselle Achille Fould'' *1884: ''Madeleine'' *1884: ''Pierrot'' *1888: ''Le Printemps, le Destin et l'Hiver'' (triptyque) *1903: ''À bicyclette au Vésinet'' File:Comerre, Leon Francois; The Pretty Maid.jpg, ''The Pretty Maid'' File:Comerre Leon Francois The Favorite.jpg, ''The Favorite'', private collection File:Comerre Leon Francois Portrait Of The Ballerina Rosita Mauri.jpg, ''Portrait Of The Ballerina Rosita Mauri'' File:Comerre Leon Francois Portrait of Suzanne Hudelo Oil On Canvas.jpg, ''Portrait of Suzanne Hudelo'' File:Léon-François Comerre - l'Odalisque au tambourin.jpg, ''L'Odalisque'' File:Comerre-Pierrot jouant de la mandoline-Musée de Gap.jpg, ''Pierrot'' playing the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

File:Odalisque by Léon Comerre.jpg, ''L'odalisque à l'éventail''

Notes

External links

Biog of Leon Comerre
(askart.com)
Paintings by Leon Comerre
(Art Renewal Center Museum) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comerre, Leon 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 1850 births 1916 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male painters Prix de Rome for painting Orientalist painters 19th-century French male artists