Jacque-Emile Blanche

Jacques-Emile Blanche
1861-1942

Blanche was born in 1861 in Paris. He was a student of Gervex and d’Humbert.

Blanche exhibited at the Salon Nationale de Beaux-Arts from its establishment in 1890. He won a gold medal at l’Exposition Universalle of 1900 in Paris. He also exhibited at the Salon des Tuileries between 1933 and 1939.

Blanche became well known among the British art community. He married the daughter of John Lemoine, a British newspaper publisher, and Blanche’s grandfather was a celebrated psychiatrist.

Blanche was also an important writer; he socialized with many of the great names of the day and painted many of their portraits. Among others, Blanche painted such figures as James Joyce, Jean Cocteau, Andre Gide, Igor Stravinsky and Marcel Proust.

Blanche was a Postimpressionist, but his application of paint, generally very sparing, and his intimacy with his subjects made his paintings unique and very identifiable. He captured the mood and history of his times with his vast legacy.

A retrospective of Blanche’s work was held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen in 1997. His works are in the Musée de Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Carnavalet, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and the Tate Gallery in London.