Julien Dupre (Kunst)

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Julien Dupre (1851-1910) was a French artist working in the last half of the 19th century. Salon critics rightly perceived Dupre as Jules Breton’s closest follower. Through idealization of form, he invested his peasant women with a heroic aura, though unlike his predecessor, his figures are usually engaged in vigorous action. His landscapes, with their cloudy skies and carried motifs, are also much more active. Their high key color and spontaneous brushwork have a vivacity and freshness that distinguishes them from the somber calm of Breton’s scenes. Dupre’s most enduring and powerful image is that of a single, Herculean female, positioned dramatically and elegantly in the foreground of the painting, pitching hay. His finely modeled figures pay tribute to his academic training, as well as his study of the works of Breton and Bouguereau; while his freer handling of the background areas, at times done with a palette knife, shows the influence of the Impressionists. Dupre received his artistic training in the academic studios of Isidore Pils, Desire-Francois Laug and Henri Lehmann.

Until now, little has been compiled about the life of this important Realist artist who was described in an article in the Magazine of Art (1891) as: “…one of the most rising artists of theFrenchSchool.” Dupre exhibited works at every Salon from 1876 until his death in 1910 and earned critical acclaim for his depictions of peasant life. He was awarded medals at several Salon Exhibitions and received a Gold Medal at the Exposition Universalle in 1889 for his pictorial representations of the life of the farm worker.

Dupre was very successful during his lifetime both in Europeand the United States. Wealthy American patrons traveled to Paristo acquire his works and they became part of the great collections of the 19th century. Many of these collections, in turn, would become the cornerstones of our great museums. His painting Au pasturage (exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1882) is now in the collection of the Washington University of Art, St. Louis and Milking Time, a monumental work, is in the collection of The Fine Arts Museums ofSan Francisco.
•Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME.
•Chi-Mei Museum, Taiwan
•Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina
•Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco
•Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, W.V.
•Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE.
•Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
•Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris
•Musee d’Orsay, Paris
•Musee du Petit Palais, Paris
•Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA.
•The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA.
•Prague
•Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery, Reading, PA.
•San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA.
•St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO.
•Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA.
•Washington University Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO.
•The Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, FL.
•University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, KY.
•Washington University Gallery of Art, St. Louis
•Worcester Art Museum
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