Julien Dupré

The Milk Girl (La Laitiére)

1900

Julien Dupré was considered by most to be one of the leading exponents of the second generation of Realist painters; a group that also includes Leon Lhermitte, Jules Bastien-Lepage and Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret. Like J.F. Millet and J. Breton, before them, these artists devoted their artistic careers to the depiction of the toils of the French peasant - often seen hard at work in the fields. He exhibited his first painting at the Paris Salon in 1876 and became a regular exhibitor until his death in 1910. In 1880 he was awarded a third-class medal for Faucheurs de Luzerne, and in 1881 he received a second-class medal for his La Recolte des Foins. He was honored with a gold medal at the Paris Fair of 1889 and in 1892 was awarded the Legion of Honor. His work was sought after internationally, and he found a good market in the United States.