Edouard Louis Dubufe

Édouard Louis Dubufe (; 31 March 1819 – 11 August 1883) was a French portrait painter.

Biography

Dubufe was born in Paris. His father was the painter Claude Marie Paul Dubufe, who gave him his first art lessons. Later he studied with Paul Delaroche at the École des Beaux-arts. He was awarded the third-class medal at the "Salon des Artistes Français" in 1839.

In 1842, he married Juliette Zimmerman (the daughter of composer and pianist Pierre-Joseph-Guillaume Zimmerman) who was a sculptor. The composer Charles Gounod became Édouard's brother-in-law (and lifelong friend) when he married Juliette's sister Anna. During a stay in England, from 1848 to 1851, Dubufe discovered the great English portrait painters, who he would seek to emulate.

His official career as a portrait painter began in 1853 with portrayals of Emperor Napoléon III and the Empress Eugénie. That same year saw the birth of his son Guillaume, who would also become a well-known painter. In 1855, Juliette died in childbirth.

Dubufe continued to enjoy great success with the aristocracy, receiving a commission from the Emperor to paint the Congress of Paris in 1856.

That same year, Dubufe remarried. He died in Versailles on 11 August 1883 after a long illness.

Works