Adolphe Jourdan

Adolphe Jourdan (4 August 1825 – 22 February 1889) was a French painter.

Adolphe Jourdan
Born	Adolphe Jourdan 4 August 1825 Nimes, France
Died	22 February 1889 (1889-02-23) (aged 63) Nimes, France
Nationality	France
Occupation	Painter
Known for	Painting

Early life and education

Adolphe Jourdan was born on 4 August 1825 in Nimes, France.^[1]

His father, a drawing instructor in Nimes, introduced him to art before he trained in Paris with Léon Cogniet, Paul Delaroche, and Charles Jalabert.^[2] In the mid-1840s, he began his training as a painter at the School of Fine Arts (known as École des Beaux-Arts) in Paris, studying under French painter Charles Jalabert.^[1]

Career

Adolphe Jourdan earned the prize of honor at the 1863 Exposition Régionale des Beaux-Arts in Nimes for his single painting on display.^[3]

The native of Nimes began exhibiting at the annual Paris Salon held by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1855, receiving medals in 1864, 1866, and 1869.^[4] In 1864, his piece titled Leda earned him a medal at the exhibition and praise from Théophile Gautier. He received another medal in 1866 for The Secrets of Love. In 1869, he exhibited A Reading and Young Fishers, with the latter acquired by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes.^[2]

Jourdan was ranked among France's popular painters alongside Jean-Léon Gérôme and Alexandre Cabanel. ^[5] Employed by a Parisian art dealer, he painted replicas of masterworks, notably Cabanel's The Birth of Venus (1864), frequently mistaken for the original.^[6]

In 1874, Vincent van Gogh expressed his admiration for him in letters to his brother Theo.^[7]

At the 1877 Salon, Adolphe Jourdan exhibited A Breakfast at Saint-Honorat. In 1876, he showcased The Good-By and The Three Friends. During the 1876 Johnston sale in New York, A Young Italian Mother sold for $2,300. At the 1878 Salon, he presented a portrait and The Banks of the Gardon.^[8]

Jourdan later became the director of the Nîmes School of Fine Arts.^[9]

At the Salon of 1888, Jourdan exhibited a portrait of Gaston Boissier.^[10]

Death

Adolphe Jourdan died on 22 February 1889 in Nimes, France.^[9]

Works

• The 4 Seasons (1857)
• Young Winemaker (1861)
• Bathing Girl (1870)^[1]
• Leda (1864)
• Cupid's Secrets (1866)
• Venus and Cupid (1869)
• Meditation (1874)
• Young Italian Mother (1874)
• Pursuit (1874)
• Little Girl (1875)
• Parting (1876)
• Three Friends (1876)
• Breakfast at Saint-Honorat (1877)
• On the Banks of the Gardon (1878)
• Venus (1879)
• Nurse (1879)
• Mother and Child (1880)
• The First Step (1881)
• Girl with a Shell (1882)
• Woman Charming a Bird (1883)
• First Smiles (1884)
• Study (1884)
• Une Loge (1885)
• Brindisi (1885)^[4]

Gallery

• Works by Adolphe Jourdan
• 
  Les secrets de l'amour, 1866
• 
  A Mother's Embrace
• 
  Le Papillon, 1860
• 
  Madonna and child, 1867
• 
  Marquise des Rossi, née Elaghine, 1860