(b La Rochelle, 24 Oct. 1820; d St-Maurice, nr. La Rochelle, 27 Aug. 1876). French painter and writer. As a painter he was a specialist in ‘Oriental’ scenes (he visited North Africa in 1846, 1847–8, and 1852–3); his pictures in this vein were much admired in his own day but are now virtually forgotten. His reputation instead rests on his book Les Maîtres d'autrefois (The Masters of Past Time, 1876), a study of Dutch and Flemish painting, particularly of the 17th century. He also wrote a lyrical novel, Dominique (1862).

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)


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