Louis Abel-Truchet

"Le Cafe de Paris" original etching

1904

Louis Abel-Truchet was a major French painter, etcher and lithographer of his time. He was born in Versailles in 1857. He is well known for his paintings portraying the turn of the century life in Paris. He was a student of the well known Julian Academy in Paris and was a student of Julian Lefebvre and Benjamin Constant. Paris was not the only city he painted, he only produced some magnificent works showing other cities such as Venice, Sienna and Marseille. Abel-Truchet was deemed by many to be an 'Impressionist' due to the style of work he created, yet the wealth and variety of work he created throughout his life make it impossible to define his role as an artist only through impressionism. His role as a satirist of the time was also a major part of his life and this motivated him to be one of the founding members of the Society of Humorists. He has favorably been compared to the great satirists of the day such as Forian.