Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Jules-Eugène Lenepveu
Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1819-1898) Portrait of a man in profile, signed drawing

circa 1870

About the Item

Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1819-1898) Portrait of a man in profile signed on the lower right Pencil and heightenings of white gouache on paper 19.5 x 13 cm Framed : 29 x 22.7 cm Jules-Eugène Lenepveu is of course particularly well known for his large-scale paintings, such as the one on the ceiling of the Paris Opera, but his work here is much more delicate and intimate. We recognise the artist's mastery of talent, but the play of textures, with its highlights of white that enliven and illuminate the model's face, is also very subtle. There's a particularly charming sense of life and impression of light. Jules-Eugène Lenepveu was born in Angers on 12 December 1819, on the site of the street that now bears his name, into a family of small shopkeepers. The painter showed a deep attachment to his family throughout his life through his correspondence and the many portraits of his relatives. He entered the drawing school in Angers in 1833, where he was a pupil of Jean-Michel Mercier. There he rubbed shoulders with the sculptor Ferdinand Taluet. He arrived in Paris in 1837 and entered the Beaux-Arts, where he was officially admitted to François-Édouard Picot's studio in 1838. He exhibited his work "L'Idylle" at the Salon of 1843 and, that same year, left for his first visit to Italy. He was awarded the Second Prix de Rome in 1843 for "Cincinnatus recevant les députés du Sénat" (Cincinnatus receiving the deputies of the Senate), then the First Prize in 1847 for "La Mort de Vitellius" (The Death of Vitellius). A resident at the Villa Médicis from 1848, he was surrounded by painters Alexandre Cabanel, Léon Benouville, Gustave Boulanger, Félix Barrias, Isidore Pils, William Bouguereau, Paul Baudry and above all the architect Charles Garnier. His historical and allegorical compositions made him famous: Chosen by Charles Garnier, with whom he maintained a close artistic and friendly relationship throughout his life, he was responsible for the ceiling of the Paris Opera (1869-1871). Praised in its day, and classified as a Historic Monument in 1923, it has nevertheless been camouflaged since 1964, at the request of the Minister of Cultural Affairs André Malraux, by a removable work signed Marc Chagall and created by Roland Bierge and his two assistants. The debate that arose at that time is not over, and the reappearance of the original ceiling, a major element in the total work of art that is the Paris Opera designed by Charles Garnier, has been a topical issue since 2023. He painted the ceiling of the Grand Théâtre in Angers (1871). He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1869, then appointed director of the Villa Medici (French Academy in Rome) from 1873 to 1878, where his niece and pupil Joséphine Berthault accompanied him. Between 1883 and 1894, in Paris, he helped decorate the Daru staircase in the Louvre palace, which leads to the Victory of Samothrace. Between 1886 and 1890, he was responsible for the monumental fresco depicting the life of Joan of Arc at the Paris Pantheon. He also created numerous church decorations in Angers, Chantilly and Paris (Sainte-Clotilde, Saint-Ambroise, Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, Saint-Sulpice). Some of his works are in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Musée d'Angers and the Villa Medicis in Rome. He died in Paris on 16 October 1898. An exhibition was devoted to him in 2023 at the Musée des Beaux Art in Angers.
  • Creator:
    Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1819 - 1898, French)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1870
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 7.68 in (19.5 cm)Width: 5.12 in (13 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Paris, FR
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: Inv 6951stDibs: LU1112213805092
More From This SellerView All
  • Louis Gallait (1810-1887) Portrait of a Gentleman, watercolor and gouache
    By Louis Gallait
    Located in Paris, FR
    Louis Gallait (1810-1887) Portrait of a Gentleman, Watercolor and gouache on paper, square white lines, 24 x 16 cm Stamp of the Louis Gallait Estate on the mount on the lower righ...
    Category

    1850s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor, Gouache

  • Attributed to Eugène Devéria (1805-1865) La famille heureuse, watercolor
    By Eugene Deveria
    Located in Paris, FR
    Attribuetd to Eugène Devéria (1805-1865) La Famille heureuse (The Happy Family) Watercolor on paper 23 x 18 cm In quite good condition : a small tear i...
    Category

    1840s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

  • French school 19th century, An italian bandit, 1864, watercolor
    Located in Paris, FR
    French school 19th century, An italian bandit, 1864, watercolor on paper On the reverse of the sheet (now under the back of the frame) an annotation, "Rome 1864" 25,5 x 21.5 cm (v...
    Category

    1860s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

  • Francois Grenier de Saint Martin (1793-1867) Lady on the beach, 1829, watercolor
    Located in Paris, FR
    Francois Grenier de Saint Martin (1793-1867) A Young Lady on the beach, 1829, signed and dated on the lower left watercolor on paper 17 x 19.5 cm F...
    Category

    1820s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

  • French School 19th Century, Portrait of a dandy, watercolor on paper
    Located in Paris, FR
    French School 19th Century, Portrait of a dandy, watercolor on paper 19 x 13 cm Signed (?) with pencil lower right "L ... " illegible Framed : 29 x 23 cm
    Category

    1880s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

  • Denis Auguste Raffet (1804-1860) Studies of characters, drawing and watercolor
    By Denis Auguste Marie Raffet
    Located in Paris, FR
    Denis Auguste Raffet (1804-1860) Studies of characters Black pencil and watercolor on paper 18.5 x 25.5 cm Stamp of the Raffet Estate Sale (1911) on the lower right In good condition, foxings on the original mount Framed 34 x 40 cm Denis Auguste Marie Raffet (2 March 1804 – 16 February 1860) was a French illustrator and lithographer. He was a student of Nicolas Toussaint Charlet, and was a retrospective painter of the Empire. At an early age he was apprenticed to a wood turner, but took up the study of art at evening classes. At the age of 18 he entered the workshop of Cabanel, where he applied his skill to the decoration of china, and where he met Rudor, from whom he received instruction in lithography, in the practice of which he was to rise to fame. He then entered the École des Beaux-Arts, but returned to lithography in 1830 when he produced on stone his famous designs of Lützen, Waterloo, Le bal, La revue, and Les adieux de la garrison, by which his reputation became immediately established.[ Raffet's chief works were his lithographs of the Napoleonic campaigns, from Egypt to Waterloo, vigorous designs inspired by ardent patriotic enthusiasm. In this endeavor he was a contemporary of other French artist-lithographers of Napoleon and the French army including Hippolyte Bellangé, Horace Vernet, and Nicolas Toussaint Charlet. As an illustrator his activity was prodigious, the list of works illustrated by his crayon amounting to about forty-five, among which are Béranger's poems, the History of the Revolution by Adolphe Thiers, the History of Napoleon by de Norvins, the great Walter Scott by Auguste Defauconpret, the French Plutarch and Frédéric Bérat's Songs. He went to Rome in 1849, and was present at the siege of Rome, which he made the subject of some lithographs, and followed the Italian campaign of 1859, of which he left a record in his Episodes de la campagne d'Italie de 1859. His portraits in pencil...
    Category

    1850s Romantic Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Ink, Watercolor

You May Also Like
  • Romantic Couple In Wartime Paris on Rainy Parisian Night
    Located in Miami, FL
    The technique and subject matter work well together in this loosely but masterfully rendered World War 1 romantic illustration of a Soldier and a Parisian woman. Even though this wo...
    Category

    1930s Romantic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Ink, Watercolor, Pencil

  • Follower of Francis Wheatley, 19th century portrait of young maiden with flowers
    By Francis Wheatley
    Located in Harkstead, GB
    A really charming, early 19th century portrait of a young maiden carrying a basket of flowers. The face is beautifully painted with a slight blush to her cheeks and striking touches ...
    Category

    Early 19th Century Romantic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pencil, Paper, Watercolor

  • Man looking into Window
    By Everett Shinn
    Located in Miami, FL
    Original Magazine Illustration for a magazine like Harper's, Vanity Fair, Life, Look, and Judge Shinn was an American realist painter and member of the Ashcan School. He also exhibited with the short-lived group known as "The Eight," Work is framed in an attractive gilt frame Morris Weiss collection...
    Category

    1910s American Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Acrylic Polymer, Gouache, Pencil, Watercolor

  • It never hurt me - 21st Century Figurative Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
    By Catharina Bond
    Located in Wien, Wien
    It never hurt me - 21st Century Figurative Portrait Drawings and Watercolors Unique copy Quote: "I also always cried a lot in ski kindergarten. It never hurt me." In German: "Ich h...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Water...

    Materials

    Paper, Graphite, Gouache

  • Vogue Magazine Illustration Turn of the Century - Woman Illustrator
    By Helen Dryden
    Located in Miami, FL
    Early in the artist's career most likely for Vogue Magazine. Signed lower left. Helen Dryden (1882–1972) was an American artist and successful industrial designer in the 1920s and 1...
    Category

    1910s Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pencil, Graphite, Gouache, India Ink

  • 'Oleta's Hat', Carmel Art Association Exhibit, California Woman Artist, SFMA
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, 'V. Conroy' for Virginia Conroy (American, 1922-2006) and dated 1985. Exhibited: Carmel Art Association, 1983 (on original backing...
    Category

    1980s Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Graphite, Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Recently Viewed

View All