594 - Charles Auguste Émile Durant, known as CAROLUS-DURAN (1837–1917)

Charles Auguste Émile Durant, known as CAROLUS-DURAN (1837–1917) Portrait of Mathieu François Adolphe Mathurin de Lescure, 1870 Oil on canvas H. 55.7 × W. 45.7 cm Signed and dated “19 Dec. 70” in the upper left corner Inscribed in the upper right corner: “To my friend / Mⁿ de Lescure / Souvenir of the Siege.” On the back of the canvas, stamp of Hardy-Alan, dealer in canvas and fine paints. Slight damage to the left eye Canvas needs to be re-stretched Carolus‑Duran (or Charles Auguste Émile Durand) was born in 1837. He studied drawing at the Lille Academy, then painting with François Souchon, a student of Jacques-Louis David, before moving to Paris in 1853, where he met Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, and Henri Fantin-Latour. His style, initially influenced by Courbet’s realism, later turned toward the art of Velázquez, whom he discovered during a three-year stay in Spain. Upon his return, he opened a studio in Paris and became one of the most sought-after portraitists in Parisian society. Notably, he painted the portrait of Gustave Doré. A sought-after teacher, his students included the American John Singer Sargent, who painted his portrait, now in the collection of the Clark Art Institute (United States). A cofounder of the Société nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1890, of which he became president in 1900, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1904 and then served as director of the Académie de France in Rome from 1905 to 1913. Our portrait reflects his connection to Mathieu François Adolphe Mathurin de Lescure, a French writer and historian who published, in 1870, a book on Mary Stuart, illustrated with ten compositions by Carolus Duran engraved by Félix Bracquemond and Paul Adolphe Rajon. This painting also serves as a reminder of the Prussian siege of Paris between September 1870 and January 1871. It illustrates the impact on the population—and particularly on artists—who were profoundly and lasting affected by the siege. The city’s surrender in January 1871 would lead to the uprising of the Paris Commune.