Adolphe Étienne Auguste Moreau-Nélaton (2 December 1859 – 25 April 1927) was a French painter, art collector and art historian. His large collection is today held in its entirety by French national museums.

Family

Moreau-Nélaton was born and died in Paris. His family's art collecting began with his grandfather Adolphe Moreau (1800–1859). As a stockbroker he possessed ample capital with which to buy the work of artists with whom he was personally acquainted, including

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

and

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...

. Moreau-Nélaton's father, who was also named Adolphe Moreau (1827–1882), was a high government official and led the railroad company

Chemins de fer de l'Est The Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est (, , CF de l'Est), often referred to simply as the Est company, was an early France, French railway, railway company. The company was formed in 1853 by the merger of ''Compagnie du chemin de fer de Pari ...

. In 1856 he married the ceramic artist Camille Nélaton (1840–1897), with whom he further expanded the family's collection.

As artist

After an 1882 visit to the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, Moreau-Nélaton decided to become a painter. He began his artistic education by studying with the artists

Henri-Joseph Harpignies Henri-Joseph Harpignies (; June 28, 1819 – August 28, 1916) was a French landscape painter of the Barbizon school. Life He was born at Valenciennes. His parents intended for him to pursue a business career, but his determination to becom ...

and

Albert Maignan Albert Pierre René Maignan (14 October 1845 – 29 September 1908) was a French history painter and illustrator. Biography In 1864, he left his hometown to study law in Paris, earning his diploma in 1866. During his studies he also paint ...

, who were friends of the family. In 1885 he exhibited for the first time in the

Salon de Paris The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. His painting style was influenced by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

and

Berthe Morisot Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (; 14 January 1841 – 2 March 1895) was a French painter, printmaker and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. In 1864, Morisot exhibited for the first time in the ...

. Domestic family scenes were his primary subject matter, but he also painted several landscapes. Some of his works are now in the collection of the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

. File:Etienne Moreau-Nélaton - Enfants au piano.jpg, ''Children at the Piano'' File:Etienne Moreau-Nélaton - La place de Fere-en-Tardenois.jpg, ''La place de

Fère-en-Tardenois Fère-en-Tardenois (, literally ''Fère in Tardenois'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is named for the Tardenois region. Population Personalities It was the birthplace of Camille Claudel ...

'' File:Etienne Moreau-Nélaton - Scène d'intérieur.jpg, ''Scène d'intérieur'' File:Etienne Moreau-Nélaton - L'enfant au livre.jpg, ''L'enfant au livre'' File:Etienne Moreau-Nélaton - Etretat.jpg, ''Étretat'' Les Maîtres de l'Affiche ''Maîtres de l'Affiche'' (Masters of the Poster) refers to 256 color lithographic plates used to create an art publication during the Belle Époque in Paris, France. The collection, reproduced from the original works of ninety-seven artists in a ...

Family

As artist

Collector and patron

Paintings in the Moreau-Nélaton collection

References and sources

External links