Georges ROCHEGROSSE (1859-1938)

He was one of the most prestigious painters of his time, adulated and covered with honors, he was none the less an archaeologist, painting great reconstructions of classical antiquity but also more intimate and sensual paintings. Coming from an intellectual and artistic background, Rochegrosse was a pupil of the famous Académie Julian, then a student of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he was twice a logist in the Prix de Rome competition. In 1883, the Prix du Salon allowed him a trip to Italy, then to the various European capitals. His great love, Marie Leblond, was throughout his life his muse and the heroine of his works. She was empress, goddess, femme fatale… The couple spent the winter months at El-Biar, on the heights of Algiers Bay, where the painter often found the oriental decorations of his compositions.

MUSEUM :
Paris (musée d’Orsay, musée Victor Hugo), Rouen, Sens, Alger, Amiens, Grenoble, Lille, Mulhouse, Rouen, Leipzig, Montpellier, Moulins

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
– “Georges Roche grosse” Album Mariani, vol.II, Paris 1896.
– J. Valmy-Baysse, Peintres d’aujourd’hui: Georges Roche grosse, n°7, Paris, n.d.
– “Une visite au peintre Roche grosse” Afrique du Nord Illustrée, Alger, 1er février 1908