Adele-Anais Toudouze

Anaïs Toudouze ( Adèle-Anaïs Colin; 1822–1899) was a French fashion plate illustrator, born in Ukraine. She was born to a painter and lithographer, Alexandre-Marie Colin and his wife, who was also a painter.

Biography Self-portrait of Héloïse and Anaïs Colin, 1836. Each of the sisters painted the portrait of the other. Anaïs was the second oldest sister of the Colin family. She had an older sister, Héloïse, and two younger sisters, Laure and Isabelle. All of the siblings were artists and Héloïse and Anaïs worked closely together on many projects for fashion plate illustrations and had similar styles. They came from a long line of ancestors that were also artists including, Jean-Baptise Greuze. The daughters learned skills from their father instead of attending an academy.

Anaïs' father was a supporter of the Romantic movement and close friends to Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Gericault, and Paul Gavarni. This sparked Anaïs' interest in the Romantic movement as well, and she followed her father's footsteps in joining that style for her artwork. Her father had a studio called Pére in the "center of the artistic activity in Paris." This kept the girls very involved and immersed in the art world. Each of the girls won awards and medals at the Salon between the ages of 14 and 20. Their paintings and illustrations were admired by viewers. They were only married for 9 years before he died in 1854, leaving Anaïs to take care of their three young children. To provide for her family, Anaïs worked and produced many fashion illustration plates for fashion magazines, journals, and books.

Professional work Anaïs worked for over 35 fashion publications during her career. All of the prints for the magazine were hand-colored and inserted with text descriptions explaining the fashions being showcased. Additionally, she illustrated books, depicting leisure and historical romantic scenes. Her main competitor who also did fashion plates was Jules David, a painter and lithographer who worked with Adolphe Goubaud, a publisher. Portrait d'une dame portant une robe à crinoline, watercolor La Saison (1868) Study: Two Women in an Evening Dress (1860) Fashion Illustration, from La Mode Illustrée, no. 28 (1886). Fashion plate, from Le Conseiller des Dames et de Demoiselles (1859) A Lady in a Hunting Costume with a Lady in Walking Costume on a Mountain Path from La Mode Illustrée (1881). Toilettes de Mme. L. Massieu, from La Mode Illustrée (1881). Museo del Prado Museum of Fine Art, Houston Virginia Museum of Fine Art National Portrait Gallery, London