Philippe Jullian (real name: ''Philippe Simounet''; 11 July 1919 – 25 September 1977) was a French

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

aesthete Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

Early life

Jullian was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

in 1919. His maternal grandfather was the historian

Camille Jullian Camille Jullian (15 March 1859 – 12 December 1933) was a French historian, philologist, archaeologist and historian of literature. A Professor of ancient history and classics at the University of Bordeaux from 1891, Jullian was awarded a chai ...

, known for his multi-volume history of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

; his mother had married a man named Simounet, a war veteran whose life ended in poverty and whose name Philippe rejected in favor of his more distinguished grandfather's. Jullian studied literature at university but left to pursue drawing and painting. In his later years, he resided in England but regularly spent winters in Africa. He also travelled extensively in India and Egypt.

Works

One of his first officially noted works was the first "artist's" label for the famous wine from

Château Mouton Rothschild Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Originally known as ''Château Brane-Mouton'', its red wine was renamed by ...

in 1945, in memory of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

victory over Germany. Jullian's book illustrations are witty, ornate, and often grotesque. He produced illustrations for his own books as well as works by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

Ronald Firbank Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank (17 January 1886 – 21 May 1926) was an innovative English novelist. His eight short novels, partly inspired by the London aesthetes of the 1890s, especially Oscar Wilde, consist largely of dialogue, with referen ...

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, among others. His books and articles on

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

, and other art movements of the fin-de-siècle helped bring about a revival of interest in the period. These include the biography ''

Robert de Montesquiou Marie Joseph Robert Anatole, comte de Montesquiou-Fézensac (7 March 1855, Paris – 11 December 1921, Menton) was a French aesthete, Symbolist poet, painter, art collector, art interpreter, and dandy. He is reputed to have been the inspira ...

'' (1965), ''Prince of Aesthetes'' (1967), ''Esthétes et Magiciens'' (1969) translated as ''Dreamers of Decadence'' (1971), ''Les Symbolistes'' (1973), and ''The Triumph of Art Nouveau'' (1974). Among others, he admired French painter

Antonio de La Gandara Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

. A collector, he published his autobiography, ''La Brocante'', which detailed the "love of small objects", in 1975. Works of fiction by Jullian dealt with the decadent, sensual, and macabre. He explored the themes of

homoeroticism Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

sado-masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

transvestism Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

and the aesthetic life. His gift for satire is evident both in fiction such as ''La Fuite en Egypte'' (1968; published as ''The Flight into Egypt'', 1970) and in his works of social satire, including ''Dictionnaire du Snobisme'' ("The Snob-Spotter's Guide", 1958), ''Les Collectioneurs'' ("The Collectors", 1967), and most notably his collaboration with the British novelist

Angus Wilson Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson, CBE (11 August 191331 May 1991) was an English novelist and short story writer. He was one of England's first openly gay authors. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for ''The Middle Age of ...

, ''For Whom the Cloche Tolls: A Scrap-Book of the Twenties'' (1953), which he also illustrated. Other books include ''

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 ...

'' (1977) and ''Les Orientalistes'' (1977), works of art history; and biographies of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

(1962), Wilde (1967), Gabriele D'Annunzio (1971),

Jean Lorrain Jean Lorrain (9 August 1855 in Fécamp, Seine-Maritime – 30 June 1906), born Paul Alexandre Martin Duval, was a French poet and novelist of the Symbolist school. Lorrain was a dedicated disciple of dandyism and spent much of his time amongs ...

(1974),

Violet Trefusis Violet Trefusis (''née'' Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English socialite and author. She is chiefly remembered for her lengthy affair with the writer Vita Sackville-West that both women continued after their respective marria ...

(1976), and

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

. Jullian's ''Journal, 1940–1950'' (published 2009) documents his experiences and responses to the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. On 22 March 1944 he wrote: An article written by Jullian appeared in 1977 in the ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' about the

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

's new palace.

Death

In the 1970s Jullian experienced a series of personal tragedies: the death of his friend

in 1972; the destruction of many of his possessions, including his pictures after a fire broke out in his apartment; and in September 1977 the stabbing to death by a stranger of his Moroccan manservant and companion, Hamoud, on whom he had increasingly depended. Five days afterwards he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by hanging.

Bibliography

* ''Edward and the Edwardians''. Sidgwick & Jackson. (1967) * ''The Flight into Egypt'' Elek Books. (1970) * ''For Whom the Cloche Tolls'' Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd (1973) * ''D'Annunzio'' (1972) * ''The Collectors'' (1965) * ''Scraps'' (1961) * ''Milord'' * ''Robert de Montesquiou'' (1965) * ''Dreamers Of Decadence: Symbolist Painters of the 1890s'' (1971) * ''The Symbolists'' (1973) * ''The Triumph of Art Nouveau: Paris Exhibition 1900'' (1974) * ''Montmartre'' (1977) * ''Sarah Bernhardt'' (1977) * ''The Orientalists: European Painters of Eastern Scenes'' (1977) * ''De Mayer'' * ''Le Style Louis XVI'' * ''Le Style Second Empire'' * (includes essay by Jullian) * ''Violet Trefusis: A Biography''. Harvest. New edition (1985). * ''Oscar Wilde (Biography & Memoirs)''. (1968) Constable and Robinson. New edition (1994).

References

External links

Italian Dandies Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jullian, Philippe 1919 births 1977 suicides Writers from Bordeaux French gay writers French LGBT novelists 20th-century French novelists Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) French male novelists 20th-century French male writers 20th-century LGBT people