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Carolus-Duran

Moderate Aktualizováno: 2025-12-06

Research Status: Moderate Last Updated: 2025-12-06 Diary Coverage: Up to 1882-05-01

Overview

Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (July 4, 1837 – February 17, 1917), was a French painter and art instructor, noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. He was among the most celebrated portrait painters working in Paris in the 1870s and 1880s.

Historical Background

Early Life and Training

  • Born: July 4, 1837, Lille, France (son of a hotel owner)
  • Early training: Académie de Lille, then with François Souchon (student of Jacques-Louis David)
  • Paris: Arrived 1853, adopted the name "Carolus-Duran"
  • First Salon exhibition: 1859
  • Further study: Académie Suisse (1859-1861); influenced by Courbet's Realism
  • Travel: Rome and Spain (1862-1866), became interested in Velázquez

Career

  • Major recognition: Lady with the Glove (1869), portrait of his wife, purchased for the Luxembourg
  • Teaching: Founded studio in Paris in 1873, became influential instructor
  • Honors: Commander of the Legion of Honor (1889)
  • Later career: Member of Académie des Beaux-arts (1904); Director of the French Academy in Rome (1905)
  • Co-founder: Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (with Meissonier and Puvis de Chavannes)

Notable Students

Best known today as instructor of major 19th/20th-century artists:
  • John Singer Sargent (most famous pupil)
  • Many American, British, and European painters

Relationship with Marie

Marie encountered Carolus-Duran in the Parisian art world, finding him:

  • "Un charmeur" (a charmer) - charismatic and socially adept
  • "Très aimable" (very friendly) - approachable to young artists
  • A significant figure in the Salon milieu she navigated

Significance

For Marie, Carolus-Duran represented:
  • The pinnacle of fashionable portrait painting
  • Connection to the official art establishment
  • A gallery of social grace she observed and admired

References in Diary

  • April 30, 1882: "Carolus-Durand vient me parler, très aimable. Cet homme est un charmeur."
  • May 1, 1882: Accompanies Marie to her carriage after conversation at the Salon

Related Entries

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