Auguste Toulmouche (1829 - 1890) French Academic Painter
Written by Teresita Blanco (The Artsy Sister)
Today, I wanted to review the artwork of the French painter, Auguste Toulmouche. He mostly did portraits of Parisian ladies. He gave a lot of emphasis to their dresses. He painted in the style of realism. However, unlike realistic the artists, he did not care about changing society. He kept the painting style, but through the socialism out the window. His work was greatly praised by Emile Zola. He was knighted in the Legion of Honor for his artwork. The first painting shows a cute maiden doing nothing. The painting is about upper middle class leisure. The maiden is so lazy that she cannot work up the energy to read her book. For now, her lazy attention has been drawn by the viewer. She is looking at us with disdain. Anyhow, this maiden is there simply for aesthetic reasons. Her white dress is very elaborated. The dark background enhances the colors of her white dress.
In this painting, we see two maidens dressed in black. Someone in their family has died. The younger girl is consoling her mother. Though the theme is pretty depressing, the maidens are there for decorative purposes. This painting does a lot more emphasis their rich furniture. They may have a lot of nice things, however, their material possessions does nothing to make them feel better. This painting also shows the funeral fashion of the day.
During this time period, everyone started making kissing paintings. This is Toulmouche's "The Kiss". The main couple belong to the circus. The guy is Pierre, the juggler. Based on the maiden's dress, she probably does the balance rope. Both their dresses are elaborate and lively. Judging by the drink, this couple is celebrating their love. The restaurant scenery too is elaborated.
In this cute painting, we see a girl in a wedding dress. The girl does not want to get married. Just look at her evil glare. She must hate the guts of her groom. This is one of the many tragedies of arranged marriages. It usually happens that the maidens are forced into marriage. To ease her burden, her mother and her sister are trying to console her. On the background, we see the bride's younger sister. She is playing with her crown of flowers. Aside from the theme, we look at the lovely wedding fashion. The scenery too is pretty elaborated.
In this last painting, we see a cute girl wearing a pink dress. Her Vanity is causing her to kiss her own reflection. Throughout history, all cute girls have at least once kissed their own reflection. Considering how cute she came out in her dress, she really has a lot to celebrate. The mirror also works for fashionable purposes. With its aid, we can see both the front and the back of her dress.
