Bastien Lepage

Bastien-Lepage, Jules, was born at Damvillers in 1848, and soon abandoned his desk in a public office for the brush and palette. At the Beaux Arts he became a pupil of Cabanel, and was drawn towards the Impressioniste school. In 1873 he exhibited Au Printemps with marked success, which was repeated next year when he produced La Chanson du Printemps and Portrait de mon Grandpere. He now gained a rapid hold on the public taste, not only in France but in England, the main features of his work being minutely accurate drawing and rich effects of colour. Jeanne d'Arc, Un Mendiant, Le Pere Jacques, L'Amour du Village, and La Forge are among his best known pictures, and one of the latest, a portrait of the Prince of Wales, was shown in the Grosvenor Gallery. His constitution broke down prematurely and he died in 1885.