Louis Le Breton (1818 in
Douarnenez
Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France.
It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estuary ...
– 1866) was a French painter who specialised in marine paintings.
Le Breton studied medicine and took part in
Dumont d'Urville
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his nam ...
's second voyage aboard the ''
Astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
''. After the official illustrator of the expedition died, Le Breton replaced him.
From 1847 he devoted himself mainly to depicting marine subjects for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
.
Occult
Louis Le Breton executed 69 illustrations of occult demons, working from engravings by M. Jarrault, for the 1863 edition of ''
Dictionnaire Infernal
The ''Dictionnaire infernal'' ( en, "Infernal Dictionary") is a book on demonology, describing demons organised in hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book; per ...
'' by
Collin de Plancy
Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy (28 January 1793 in Plancy-l'Abbaye – 1881 in Paris) was a French occultist, demonologist and writer. He published several works on occultism and demonology.
Biography
He was born Jacques Albin Simon Colli ...
.
[Peter Fitting, ''Subterranean Worlds: A Critical Anthology'', page 208 (Wesleyan University Press, 2004). ]
See also
*
European and American voyages of scientific exploration
The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...
References
External links
Adorning the world: art of the Marquesas Islands an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Louis Le Breton (no. 27)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breton, Louis Le
1818 births
1866 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
19th-century French male artists