Family Background
Georges Laugée, Garden at Dupré home in Villemomble, n.d. Oil on panel. Collection Jérémie Jouan, Paris.
The Dupré family lived in the Ile de France region from at least the eighteenth century. Little is known about Julien Dupré's great grandparents, but his grandfather, Pierre Paul Balthazar Dupré (ca. 1788-1851) was recorded as the buyer of a house in the village of Villemomble about ten miles east of Paris in 1832. He and his wife, Jeanne Cécile Grignon (ca. 1788-?), settled in the center of the village at Grande rue 17. At the time of this purchase, their son, Jean-Marie-Pierre Dupré, was twenty-three years old.
The house no longer exists, but it was reportedly a three-story structure with a small courtyard and a garden. Georges Laugée, Julien Dupré's brother-in-law, later painted a small oil sketch of the garden.
1834
Julien Dupré's father, Jean-Marie-Pierre Dupré, was born on February 8, 1809, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris; he was baptized at the Church of Saint Eustache on November 12, 1809. At that time, the Dupré family lived at the Galerie des Innocents, no. 1. As a young man, Jean Dupré worked as a jeweler, as did a number of other family members.[1] On February 13, 1834, he married Irma Marie Madeleine Françoise Bouillié at the Church of Saint-Merri, a sixteenth-century gothic church in the Marais district of Paris.
1835
Their first child, Jean, was born on January 10, 1835, and baptized at Notre Dame de Bonne Nouvelle on January 8, 1835.
1849
Death of Irma Marie Madeleine Bouillié Dupré in the cholera epidemic of 1849.
1850
Jean-Marie-Pierre Dupré married Marie Madeleine Pauline Célinie Bouillié on May 29, 1950 in Paris. Pauline was the sister of Dupré's first wife, Irma Marie Madeleine Francoise Bouillié.
Julien Dupré chronology
1851
March 19, 1851: Birth of Julien Dupré in Paris. The family lived on the rue des Enfants Rouges, No. 11 in the Marais quarter of the 3rd arrondissement.[2]
March 20, 1851: Baptism of Julien Dupré at the church of Saint-Jean-Saint-François, 13 rue du Perche, Paris.[3]
1852
November 27, 1852: Birth of Julien Dupré's sister Julie in Paris.
1863
April 28, 1863: Dupré's father, Jean-Marie Pierre Dupré, purchased 3,787 square meters of trapezoidal-shaped, wooded property in Villemomble. The Dupré family's Paris address was 11 rue des Enfants Rouges.
1869
March 20, 1869: Dupré's father sold property in Le Raincy, which is immediately to the north of Villemomble, to Mlle Athénais Octavie Messager, a midwife then living at 105 Boulevard de l'Ouest, Le Raincy. The wooded property consisted of 4,195 square meters.
ca. 1869
Dupré's father apprenticed him to a lacemaker located in the Marais district.
1871-73
Dupré is recorded in the military census, Number 263. His address was listed as 11 rue des Enfants Rouges, Paris in the 3rd arrondissement; this was his parents' home. In 1871, the lacemaking shop where he was working was forced to close because of the Franco-Prussian War, leaving Dupré without a job. [See Archives, Public Records Dossier militaire]
1872
Dupré enrolled in a sketching class at the Ecole des arts décoratifs taught by Monsieur Laporte. This class was frequently taken in preparation for admission to the highly competitive Ecole Nationale et Spéciale des Beaux-Arts.
Dupré's earliest known sketchbook indicates that he was still living at the rue des Enfants Rouges, No. 11. The sketches include studies of figures and animals as well as preliminary ideas for compositions. In addition, there are drawings based on Roman classical images as well as paintings by Nicholas Poussin, Laurent La Here, Raphael and other old masters.
Dupré entered the Ecole Nationale et Spéciale des Beaux-Arts where he studied with Isidore Pils (1813-1875) until the painter's death in 1875. He then continued his studies with Pils successor, Henri Lehman (1814-1882).[4] [See Archives, Public Records, Matriculation Register ENSBA]
1874
Dupré is listed on the Register of Voters as: No. 7362. "artiste peintre domicilié, 11 rue des Enfants Rouges, 3ème.
Mid-1870s
The painter Désiré François Laugée (1823-1896), who was based in Nauroy near Saint-Quentin in Picardy, was also a mentor for Dupré. Laugée's son, Georges (1853-1937), whom he had met in Pils' atelier at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, undoubtedly invited his fellow-artist to visit his home. The two young men worked side by side in Picardy while Dupré studied with the senior Laugée. During this time, Dupré also made the acquaintance of Georges' eldest sister, Marie Eléonore Françoise whom he would later marry.
1875
Dupré is listed on Register of Voters as: No. 7321. "artiste peintre domicilié, 35 rue des Archives, 3ème. This is in the same general neighborhood where he spent his childhood.
July 12, 1875: Dupré's father, Jean-Marie Pierre Dupré, purchased 360.6 square meters of land in on the Avenue du Chemin de Fer in Le Raincy. The property was surrounded by walls on all sides. The elder Dupré's real estate dealings suggest that he was financially comfortable at this time.
1876
Dupré is listed on Register of Voters as: No. 7207. "artiste peintre domicilié, 35 rue desArchives, 3ème.
April 23, 1876: Dupré's sister Julie marries Louis Achille Saisset (1854-1895). Both Julie and her husband worked as jewelers in Paris.
May 1, 1876: Dupré debuted at the annual Salon des Beaux-Arts with the painting, La Moisson, en Picardie and Le repos des moissonneurs.
May 17, 1876: Dupré married Marie Eléonore Françoise Laugée (1851-1937) in a Catholic ceremony in Paris. They lived with the Laugée family in Nauroy and in the Passy neighborhood of Paris at boulevard Lannes, 15 bis near the Bois de Boulogne
Marie Laugée Dupré also trained as a painter under her father, Désiré, and with Evariste Vital Luminais in Paris. She exhibited two drawings at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in 1874.[5]
1877
Dupré is listed on Register of Voters, No. 6817,"artiste peintre domicilié, 35 rue des Archives, 3ème.
March 19, 1877: Birth of daughter, Thérèse Marthe Françoise, to Marie and Julien Dupré. In a letter to his uncle and aunt, Joachim and Caroline Malézieux, Dupré wrote:
"I am happy to announce the birth of our daughter Thérèse; she is a beautiful healthy girl, I assure you. My dear Marie is resting now, but how she suffered. She asked me to convey her hugs; and little Thérèse sends you her kisses too. Please excuse my short letter, but I am a little emotional. Hug my cousins for me. I embrace you all with all my heart. Your nephew, Julien Dupré"
[Cher oncle et chère tante, Je suis heureux de venir vous annoncer la naissance de notre fille Thérèse ; c'est une belle grosse fille, je vous assure. Ma chère Marie se repose maintenant, mais elle a bien souffert. Elle me charge de vous embrasser ; la petite Thérèse vous envoie aussi des baisers.
Excusez ma lettre si courte, mais je suis un peu émotionné. Embrassez mes cousines pour moi et mes cousins. Je vous embrasse de tout mon cœur.
Votre neveu, Julien Dupré.] [See Archives, Correspondence, Letter from Julien Dupré to Joachim and Caroline Malézieux]
March 21, 1877: Baptism of daughter, Thérèse Marthe Françoise in Paris.
May 1877: At the Salon des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Dupré exhibited Fauchers de Seigle, en Picardie (Rye Reapers, in Picardie) and Moissoneurs Buvant (Hay Harvesters Drinking)
May 3, 1877: Dupré's father, Jean-Marie Pierre Dupré, purchased a plot of land at 14 boulevard Flandrin, Paris where he built a house and a studio. The builders were Julien Dupré's cousins, Joachim and Albert Malezieux.
1878
Dupré is listed on Register of Voters, No. 7076, "artiste peintre domicilié, 35 rue des Archives, 3ème.
Dupré established a studio at 14 boulevard Flandrin. He and Georges Laugée shared this studio for many years. The Laugée family home on the boulevard Lannes is located just a few blocks from here.
May 1878: Exhibited Les Lieurs de Gerbes (Binding Sheaves) at the Paris Salon.
1879
Dupré is listed on Register of Voters, No. 6787, "artiste peintre domicilié, 35 rue des Archives, 3ème.
May 1879: Exhibited Le Regain (Second Crop) and Glaneuses (Gleaners) at the Paris Salon. Glaneuses received an Honorable Mention.
July 18, 1879: Birth of son Jacques in Paris.
July 31, 1879: Sale of property in Villemomble, France to Dupré's parents, Jean Marie and Pauline Célinie of 35 rue des Archives, Paris. The seller was Jeanne Mijonnet, the widow of Martial Jacques Grimaud, of Paris. This property included the house and land. Villemomble is located approximately twelve miles due east of Paris.
Throughout 1879, Dupré sold thirteen paintings, including his first sales to Goupil & Co., Knoedler & Co., and Arthur Tooth and Sons.
1880
April 9-10, 1880: Dupré's parents purchased a house at rue Rennequin, 12 impasse Roux, moving from their modest accommodations at 46 rue du Marais, Paris into a very fashionable district. The Haussmannian building was five stories high with a zinc roof; it consisted of two buildings separated by a small courtyard with a well.
May 1880: Exhibited Faucheurs de luzerne (Alfalfa Mowers) and Glaneuses (Gleaners) at the Paris Salon. Faucheurs de luzerne received a Third Class medal.
July 1880: Dupré family spent the summer with Marie's Malézieux cousins in the village of Nauroy in Picardy, where the Malézieux family had a house. This location allowed Dupré—and his brother-in-law Georges Laugée—easy access to the countryside where they could set up their easels and paint.
1881
January 17, 1881: Julien purchased the house and studio that his father had built at 14 boulevard Flandrin, in the 16th arrondissement. Julien and Marie Dupré are recorded as living there in Livret du Salon des Artistes Français.[6]
May 1881: Exhibited La Récolte des Foins (Harvesting Hay) and Dans la Prairie (In the Meadow) at the Paris Salon. La Récolte des Foins received a Second Class medal. As a result, Dupré was able to exhibit at the Paris Salon hors concours rather than having to submit his work to the jury for consideration each year.
1882
May 1882: Exhibited Au Pâturage (In the Pasture) at the Paris Salon. It was this painting that first caught the attention of Vincent van Gogh, who wrote about it in a letter to his brother Théo in December 1882, where he described the painting as "outstanding, very energetic and very true to life.”[7]
1883
At some point during 1882-1883, Dupré began accepting students of his own. George W. Chambers of St. Louis, Missouri, who also studied with Jean-Léon Gérôme, was one of his earliest pupils.
May 1883: Exhibited Le Berger (The Shepherd) at the Paris Salon.
1884
Julien and Marie Dupré were living at 10 boulevard Flandrin, 16ème, according to the Livret du Salon des Artistes Français. They will remain at this address until 1898 when they moved to 20 boulevard Flandrin.[8]
May 1884: Exhibited La Prairie Normande (Prairie in Normandy) at the Paris Salon.
This painting may be the first of Dupré's works to receive critical coverage in an English-language publication. Sophia Beale, writing for the London-based magazine The Art Journal in 1886, commented that: "In La Prairie Normande, by M. J. Dupré, we have another type of everyday life. A vigorous peasant-girl, such as one sees in every part of France, dressed simply and picturesquely, her hair bound up in a coloured handkerchief, and her feet shod in sabots, is dragging her cows home to be milked."[9]
1885
January 30, 1885: Sale of land in Gagny, France to Dupré's father, Jean-Marie Dupré, by Monsieur Louis Philippe Albert d'Orléans, Comte de Paris, 57 rue de Varenne, Paris.
May 1885: Exhibited La Vache échappée (The Escaped Cow) and La mise en meule (Stacking Hay).
October 14, 1885: Birth of daughter, Madeleine, in Paris.
November 8, 1885: Death of Dupré's mother, Pauline Célinie Bouillié.
1886
May 1886: Exhibited Le ballon (The Balloon) and Dans le ferme (At the Farm) at the Paris Salon.
1887
Became a member of the Société des Artistes Français.
The American collector, George Seney, donated Le Ballon, Dupre's 1886 Salon painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This was the first time that Dupré's work entered the collection of a museum in the United States.
During 1887 Dupré sold twenty-two paintings, making this a record year for sales up until this time. Six of these works went to the Blakeslee Gallery in New York, two were sold to Boussod, Valadon & Co. in Paris, and the remainder to private patrons.
May 1887: Exhibited Dans le clos (In the Enclosed Garden) and Le repos dans les champs (Resting in the Fields) at the Paris Salon.
September 7-October 22, 1887: Exhibited two paintings at the InterState Industrial Exposition of Chicago.
1888
May 1888: Exhibited L'heure de la traite (Milking Hour) at the Paris Salon. The painting received positive critical reviews in Le Figaro.
1889
May 1889: Exhibited La prairie at the Paris Salon.
May 6-October 31, 1889: Exposition Universelle held in Paris. Dupré exhibited L'heure de la traite (Milking Hour), La fenaison (Haymaking) and Les faucheurs de luzerne (Alfalfa Mowers). He received a Silver Medal for his work.
1890
Dupré became a member of the jury for the Société des Artistes Français
May 1890: Exhibited La vache blanche (The White Cow) and Les faneurs (The Haymakers) at the Paris Salon.
August 29, 1890: Death of Dupré's father, Jean-Marie Pierre Dupré, joailler, at 52 rue Etienne Marcel, Paris, 75002.
September, 1890: Exhibited Bei der Heuernte (Hay Harvest) at the Second International Exhibition in Munich, where the painting was recognized with a Gold Medal.
August 27-October 4 1890: Exhibited Milking Time and Returning from Market at the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition.[10]
1891
May 1891: Exhibited Un Chemin, au Mesnil (A Road at Mesnil) and Dans l'herbage (In the Grass) at the Paris Salon. Un Chemin, au Mesnil was purchased by the state.
1892
January 23, 1892: Received the French state's highest award for an artist, the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honor). He was nominated for this honor by Désiré Laugée. [See Archives, Public Records, Légion d'honneur]
May 1892: Exhibited La rentrée à la ferme (Return to the Farm) and Sous les pommiers au soleil (Under the Apple Trees, in the Sun) at the Paris Salon.
1893
May 1893: Exhibited La vallée d'Arques (The Arques Valley) and Avant l'orage (Before the Storm) at the Paris Salon.
May-November 1893: Exhibited Valley of the Durdent in the Palace of Fine Arts at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
1894
May 1894: Exhibited four works of art at the Paris Salon, including Une prairie à Archelles (A Meadow in Archelles), Femme trayant sa vache (Woman Milking Her Cow), and a gouache, L'orage s'approche (The Storm Approaches) as well as a pastel Vache au soleil (Cow in the Sun).
Exhibited La vallée normande (Valley in Normandy) at the Exposition universelle des beaux-arts in Anvers, Belgium. He received a Gold Medal.
1895
May 1895: Exhibited La rentrée au village (Return to the Village), La traite (Milking), and a work on paper Pendant les foins (Haying).
June 15, 1895: Death of Dupré's brother-in-law, Louis Saisset (husband of Julie Dupré).
Exhibited In the Fields at the annual exhibition of the Society of Bohemian Arts in Prague. The painting was purchased from the exhibition by the National Gallery, Prague.
1896
January 24, 1896: Death of Désiré François Laugée, Dupré's father-in-law and mentor, in Paris. He was buried in the Passy cemetery.
May 1896: Exhibited: La vallée de la Durdent (Valley of the Durdent River) and La sortie de la femme (A Woman Leaving) at the Paris Salon.
1897
The Dupré family moved to 20 Boulevard Flandrin in the 16ème arrondissement, as listed in Firmin Didot et Bottin's Annuaire-almanach du commerce, de l'industrie, de la magistrature et de l'administration (Paris: Firmin-Didot frères,1898).
May 1897: Exhibited Vache à l'ombre (Cow in the Shade) and Dans la prairie (In the Meadow) at the Paris Salon.
1898
May 1898: Exhibited Le labour (Labor) and Prairie (Prairie) at the Paris Salon.
Dupré's new address at Boulevard Flandrin, 20, Paris is noted in the Salon catalogue.
June 1-November 1, 1898: Dupré participated in the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of Fine Arts Exhibit in Omaha, Nebraska. He was represented by two paintings, In the Pasture, loaned by the St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts, and The Herder.
June 2, 1898: Marriage of Dupré's eldest daughter, Thérèse Marthe Françoise, to Louis Jules Edmond Côtard, an insurance company executive who was also a painter. The ceremony took place in the town hall in the Paris suburb of Vanves where the Côtard family lived.
September 10-October 15, 1898: Dupré's painting, Milking Time, was included in the Milwaukee Industrial Exposition in Wisconsin.
1899
May 1899: Exhibited Au bord de la mare (Beside the Pond) and Une prairie (A Prairie) at the Paris Salon.
1900
May 1900: Exhibited Pâturage (Pasture) at the Paris Salon.
Became a member of the Comité (central committee) at the Salon, retaining this responsibility until his death. His colleagues on the Comité included many of the most well respected artists of the era such as Léon Bonnat, William Adolphe Bouguereau, Frédéric Cormon, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Jacques Henner, Edouard Toudouze, Jehan Georges Vibert and Antoine Vollon.
Dupré also served on the Jury d'Admissions et de Récompenses (Admissions and Awards Jury) from 1900 - 1910.
April 14-November 12, 1900: Dupré was well represented at the Exposition Universelle in Paris with four paintings: Vaches à l'ombre (Cows in the Shade); La Vallée de la Durdent (Durdent River Valley); Dans la plaine (On the Plains); Un Chemin au Mesnil (A Road in Mesnil).
November 1, 1900-January 1, 1901: Exhibited Repose of the Haymakers (Le Répos) at the Fifth Annual International at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1901
May 1901: Exhibited Au bord de la riviére (By the Riverside) and Au soleil (In the Sun) at the Paris Salon.
1902
May 1902: Exhibited A la fin du jour (At the End of the Day) and Une bergère (A Shepherdess) at the Paris Salon.
September 29, 1902: Death of Emile Zola, the Naturalist writer and art critic. Dupré was part of the official cortege during the writer's funeral procession to the Montmartre Cemetery on October 6, 1902. [Archives, Correspondence, La Press, lundi 6 Octobre 1902.]
1903
May 1903: Exhibited Le retour du troupeau (Return of the Herd) and Le marécage (The Marsh) at the Paris Salon.
Spring and summer: Trip to England where Marie Laugée Dupré painted several oils of an English country house and village as well as many still-lifes.
1904
March 5, 1904: Death of Jean-Marie Dupré, Julien's half- brother, at 61 boulvevard de Montmorency, Paris. May 1904: Exhibited La prairie (The Prairie) and Dans la campagne (In the Country) at the Paris Salon.
1905
May 1905: Exhibited La Charrette de foin (The Hay Cart) and Ombre et soleil (Shadow and Sunlight) at the Paris Salon.
October 1905: Exhibited Sleeping Cow at the Grand Palais, Paris.
1906
May 1906: Exhibited Dans la plaine (On the Plains) and En Picardie (In Picardy) at the Paris Salon.
1907
1907: Dupré is again listed on the Register of Voters, No. 8822, "artiste peintre domicilié 20 boulevard Flandrin, 16ème arrondissement de Paris". This is the first time that the Register appears after a period of neglect following a fire that destroyed the records from 1903-1906.
May 1907: Exhibited Scène des champs (Field Scene) and La grande prairie (The Large Prairie) at the Paris Salon.
1908
Dupré is listed on the Register of Voters, No. 9087 "artiste peintre domicilié 20 boulevard Flandrin, 16ème arrondissement de Paris"
April 13-June 13, 1908: Exhibited The Meadow at the Twelfth Annual International at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
May 1908: Exhibited La Source (The Source) and La grande prairie (The Large Prairie) at the Paris Salon.
June 18, 1908: Dupré purchased land in Mont-Dore from Monsieur Tardieu, who was apparently a neighbor in the 16th arrondissement at 180 avenue Victor Hugo. Mont Dore is 240 miles due south of Paris in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The thermal springs there inspired the Romans to build a bath around them. In the nineteenth century, Mont-Dore built a new thermal bathing facility based on Roman architectural forms.
1909
Dupré is listed on the Register of Voters, No.8780, "artiste peintre domicilié 20 boulevard Flandrin, 16ème arrondissement de Paris"
May 1909: Exhibited L'été (Summer) and Dans la vallée (In the Valley) at the Paris Salon
17 August 1909: Death of Célestine Marie Malezieux Laugée (Dupré's mother-in-law).
1910
Dupré is listed on the Register of Voters, No.9314, "artiste peintre domicilié 20 boulevard Flandrin, 16ème arrondissement de Paris".
April 16, 1910: Julien Dupré died at home in Paris at age 59.
He was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery (Division 60) in Paris. An artist's palette and brushes with flowers are carved into the headstone. Marie Laugée and Thérèse Cotard-Dupré will later be buried there as well.
Obituaries appeared in Le Figaro, April 19, 1910; Le Temps, April 30, 1910; Le Bulletin de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, April 23,1910; and Gazette de l'Hôtel Drouot, April 21, 1910.
May 1910: Posthumous exhibition of Dupré's paintings, Dans la campagne (In the Country) and Une bergère (A Shepherdess) at the Paris Salon.
1911
March 28 – April 13, 1911: Studio sale of Dupré works including 52 paintings, 43 painted sketches, 12 watercolors, 115 drawings and a number of lithographs.
1912
April 15 – May 4, 1912: Second studio sale of Dupré's works including 42 paintings, 24 painted sketches, 7 watercolors, 12 drawings plus 1 lot of drawings and lithographs.
Notes
[1] In French, there are two nouns for the word “jeweler”. One is bijoutier/ière which refers to what would be described as costume jewelry in English. The other is joaillier/ière which refers to fine art jewelry. Jean-Marie-Pierre Dupré most likely began his career as a bijoutier and then evolved into a joaillier. His eldest son Jean and his daughter Julie both became joaillier/ière. Julien Dupré’s cousin, nephew and son-in-law were also jewelers.
[2] Félix Lazare and Louis Lazare, Dictionnaire administratif et historique des Rues de Paris et de ses Monuments (Paris: 1844) 197. The rue des Enfants Rouges no longer exists but has been incorporated into the rue des Archives.
[3] Extraites des registres des Actes de baptêmes de la paroisse de St. Jean St. François. The church, originally built in 1623, is located at 13 rue Perché in the Marais; in 1970, this church was renamed Sainte-Croix des Amémienes.
[4] Matriculation Register Ecole National et Spéciale des Beaux-Arts. Card #402 for Julien Dupré. n.d.
[5] Marie Laugée’s submissions to the annual Salon in 1874 included two drawings: Portrait de Mme. L (#2292) and Etude (#2293).
[6] There are no Registers of Voters for the 16ème arrondissement between 1872 and 1901; in addition the Registers for the 16ème from 1903-1906 are lost.
[7] Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Théo van Gogh, [No. 292], The Hague, 10 December 1882.Van Gogh Museum inv. #b264 V/1962
[8] Firmin Didot et Bottin, Annuaire-almanach du commerce , de l’industrie, de la magistrature et de l’administration (Paris: Firmin-Didot frères, 1884.
[9] Sophia Beale, “French Art” The Art Journal, vol. 48 (May 1886): 129-132.
[10] Catalogue of the Minneapolis Industrial Exposition, (Minneapolis: Tribune Job Printing Company, 1890) 29. See also “School and Studio” The Art Amateur, Vol. 23, No. 6 (Nov., 1890) 130.