Biography

French painter and lithographer. He studied advertising lithography in Strasbourg from 1864, and also at the studio of Alexandre Cabanel. In order to survive, he worked both at his regular profession and as a decorative painter. Fame and commercial success came to him in the 1880s.

He was one of the main representatives of Symbolism in France. The motifs of his landscapes, religious histories, portraits and figures were in reduced colours and a mysterious semi-darkness with blurred contours, as if seen through a veil.

He is best known for his spiritual interpretations of maternity and family life. He also painted some large canvases for the Sorbonne and the Hôtel de Ville, Paris. Among his works are many notable portraits, including those of Verlaine, Daudet, and Edmond de Goncourt (all in the Louvre).