Édouard Toudouze (1848-1907) was a French painter, illustrator, and decorative artist.

Biography

Toudouze was born to an artistically accomplished family. His father, , was an architect and engraver. His mother, Adèle-Anaïs Colin (1822-1899), a well known illustrator, was the daughter of

Alexandre-Marie Colin Alexandre-Marie Colin (1798-1875) was a French painter of historical and genre subjects. Biography Colin was born in Paris in 1798. He was a pupil of Girodet and close friend of Eugène Delacroix, Achille Devéria, and others. He and Delacro ...

and a descendant of

Jean-Baptiste Greuze Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting. Biography Early life Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy. He is generally said to have formed h ...

. In addition, his aunt was the illustrator Héloïse Colin Leloir, his uncle the painter , and his cousins the illustrators Maurice Leloir and

Alexandre-Louis Leloir Alexandre-Louis Leloir (14 March 1843 – 28 January 1884) was a French painter specializing in genre and history paintings. Life and career Alexandre-Louis Leloir was born in Paris, France. He was born into a family with a rich artistic herita ...

.Brief biography
@ Rehs Galleries. His sister Isabelle Toudouze (1850-1907) was also a painter, and his brother was a novelist. After studying at the Collège Sainte-Barbe in Paris, he served an apprenticeship with

Isidore Pils Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects. Biography Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Le ...

. After brief studies at the

École des Beaux Arts École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, he débuted at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in 1867. Four years later, after serving in the Franco-Prussian War, he received the

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 ...

in painting for his work, ''Blind Oedipus''. Although known for his mythological and historical themes, his canvases are mostly in the

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 ...

style. As a rule, he tended to avoid involvement in the quarrels that pitted

Academicism 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 ...

against

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. He received a gold medal at the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The Exposition Universelle of 1889 () was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 5 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fourth of eight expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more than thirty-two million visitors. The ...

and was named a knight in the Légion d’Honneur in 1892. He became an officer of that order in 1903.Dossier
@ the Base Léonore. A large number of his paintings were acquired by the government for state-run museums. In addition to his paintings, he did decorative work at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

(a scene from the '' Jeu de Robin et Marion''). He also produced a set of models depicting the history of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

that were made into tapestries at the

Manufacture des Gobelins The Gobelins Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Paris, France. It is located at 42 avenue des Gobelins, near Les Gobelins métro station in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally established on the site as a medieval ...

. The tapestries were on display at the until 1994, when they were moved to a museum for preservation. His book illustrations included works by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

and numerous volumes from ''

La Comédie Humaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' of

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 ...

Selected works

File:BalzacChouans03.jpg, Illustration from
''

Les Chouans ''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...

'' File:Edouard Toudouze (1848-1907) -.jpg, The First Dance File:BalzacQuestAbsolute01.jpg, Illustration from ''

The Quest of the Absolute ''The Quest of the Absolute'' (French: ''La Recherche de l'absolu'') is a novel by Honoré de Balzac. The novel first appeared in 1834, with seven chapter-divisions, as a Scène de la vie privée; was published by itself in 1839 by Charpentier; an ...

'' File:Toudouze - Les adieux d'Œdipe aux cadavres de sa femme et de ses fils.jpg, Blind

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

References

External links

Works by Toudouze
at

ArtNet Artnet.com is an art market website. It is operated by Artnet Worldwide Corporation, which has headquarters in New York City, in the United States, and is owned by Artnet AG, a German publicly traded company based in Berlin that is listed on t ...

Works by Toudouze
at the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toudouze, Edouard 1848 births 1907 deaths 19th-century French painters French illustrators French decorative artists Collège Sainte-Barbe alumni Prix de Rome for painting Recipients of the Legion of Honour Painters from Paris French history painters French genre painters Académie Julian faculty 20th-century French painters