Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Edouard Julien.
French ( b.1883 - d.1966 ).
Self Portrait, 1932.
Oil On Panel.
Unsigned.
Image size 17.7 inches x 14.6 inches ( 45cm x 37cm ).
Frame size 20.9 inches x 17.7 inches ( 53cm x 45cm ).
Edouard Julien was an accomplished French painter and lithographer, and long-term curator of the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum in Albi. As a scholar of Toulouse-Lautrec he became an art writer who was sought after by publishers all over the world.
Julien was born in Albi, in the Occitanie region of France in 1883. He had an uncle who was a painter and his parents ran a printing house which specialised in art editions and the printing of lithographs. This would have given the young Edouard a taste for art and a sound understanding of artistic techniques. At 17 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse and studied there throughout 1900 and 1901. He then returned to Albi and took care of the family business, although he also pursued his love of art by working as an artist. By 1903 he was at the Academy in Albi, founded by Bernard-Joseph Artigue, where he became friends with the artist Henri Gourc. In 1928 Julien left Albi again for Paris where he enrolled in the Julian Academy, but he was quickly told that he was an artist, not a student and that they had nothing to teach him about the technique of painting. He therefore rented a studio and worked hard, making friends and exhibiting his works with success.
As an artist Julien loved working in the open air, and his works showed extreme sensitivity. He travelled widely within France to work, and particularly loved the Basque Country, where he met his wife. He also travelled to paint the magical landscapes of Spain, Flanders and North Africa.
At some point Julien returned to Albi, which was also the birthplace of another now more famous French artist whom he admired, namely Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This artist was to feature most prominently in the professional life of Edouard Julien.
In 1922 the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum was inaugurated in the prestigious setting of the Palais de la Berbie in Albi. This 13th century building was originally the Bishop’s Palace of Albi Cathedral, next to which it stands. It is dedicated mainly to the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and, thanks to a bequest from his parents, houses the largest public collection in the world devoted to this artist. Many visitors do not appreciate that this collection owes much of its success to the devotion of Edouard Julien. In 1934 Charles...
Category
Mid-20th Century Post-Impressionist Constance Anne Parker Art
