Auguste Toulmouche Biography
Toulmouche was a painter depicting beautiful women within interior scenes (Directoire / Costume paintings). Toulmouche was born in Nantes on September 21, 1829 and died in Paris on October 16, 1890. Toulmouche was a pupil of Marc Charles Gabriel Gleyre (1806-1874). Auguste Toulmouche first exhibited paintings in the Salon of 1848, in 1852 he won a third class medal, a second class medal in 1861 and a third class medal in 1878 (Exposition Universelle). In 1870, Toulmouche received the honor of Chevalier de la Legion dhonneur in 1870.
At the height of his career the phenomenon called Costume painting came into the forefront of 19th century painting. These contemporary tastes belonged to a growing number of people who reveled in depictions of sentimental, romantic daily life. The subject matter of a painting was the primary consideration, and its success depended on the expressiveness of the characters, a quality directly derived from history painting. Toulmouche was amongst a select group including Jules Emile Saintin (1829-1894), Joaquin Pallares y Allustante (late 19th century), and Charles Joseph Frederick Soulacroix (1825-?).