Auguste Toulmouche

born Nantes 1829, died Paris 1890

Toulmouche was a successful genre painter who briefly mentored the young Monet. He exhibited his work at the Salon from 1848 onwards, receiving numerous accolades, including a silver medal at the Salon of 1861 and a bronze medal at the 1878 Universal Exposition.

Married to a cousin of Monet's Aunt Lecadre, Toulmouche accepted Monet in his atelier in 1862. In the same year he encouraged Monet to enter the studio of the Swiss history painter Charles Gleyre (1808–74), under whom he had also studied. Along with others of Gleyre's students, Toulmouche was briefly associated with the classicising néo-grec style, led by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904).

Although he also produced portraits and landscapes, he is primarily known for his intimate interior scenes of domestic life. His paintings exhibit the polished, academic style typical of Gleyre and his followers. In 1870 he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

Source: Monet and the Impressionists exhibition catalogue:
Shackelford, George T M. Monet and the Impressionists.
Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2008

Works by Auguste Toulmouche in the exhibition

Reading lesson  1865, Auguste Toulmouche.
Oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: gift of Francis A Foster