Thomas Couture (December 21, 1815 – March 30, 1879) was an influential French history painter and teacher. December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

He was born at Senlis Oise, France and at age 11, Thomas Couture's family moved to Paris where he would study at the industrial arts school (École des Arts et Métiers) and later at the École des Beaux-Arts. He failed the prestigious Prix de Rome competition at the École six times, but he felt the problem was with the École, not himself. Couture finally did win the prize in 1837. Senlis is a city and commune located about 50km north of central Paris, France in the Picardie région, in the Oise département. ... Oise is a département in the north of France named after the Oise River. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The École Nationale Supérieure dArts et Métiers (ENSAM) is a French technical college and grand établissement. ... École des Beaux Arts refers to several art schools in France. ... The Prix de Rome is a scholarship for students of the arts. ...

In 1840, he began exhibiting historical and genre pictures at the Paris Salon, earning several medals for his works, in particular for his 1847 masterpiece, "Romans in the Decadence of the Empire." Shortly after his this success, Couture opened an independent atelier meant to challenge the École des Beaux-Arts by turning out the best new history painters.

Couture's innovative technique gained much attention and he received Government and Church commissions for murals during the late 1840s through the 1850s. However, he never completed the first two commissions, while the third met with mixed criticism. Upset by the unfavorable reception of his murals, in 1860 he left Paris for a time returning to his hometown of Senlis where he continued to teach young artists who came to him. In 1867 he thumbed his nose at the academic establishment by publishing a book on his own ideas and working methods.

During his lifetime, Couture taught such later luminaries of the art world as Edouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Édouard Manet (portrait by Nadar) Édouard Manet (January 23, 1832 - April 30, 1883) was a noted French painter. ... Self Portrait by Henri Fantin-Latour (1859), at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (January 14, 1836 - August 25, 1904) was a French painter and lithographer. ... The Poor Fisherman Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, (December 14, 1824 – October 24, 1898) was a French painter. ...

Asked by a publisher to do an autobiography, Thomas Couture responded with words that are even more appropriate today: "Biography is the exaltation of personality --- and personality is the scourge of our time."

Thomas Couture died at Villiers-le-Bel, Val-d'Oise and was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France. Villiers-le-Bel is a commune of the Val-dOise département, in France. ... Val-dOise is a French département named after the Oise River, located in the ÃŽle-de-France région. ... Looking down the hill at the Père-Lachaise cemetery The Cimetière du Père-Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris, and one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

External links

• Find-A-Grave profile for Thomas Couture

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Thomas Couture