Charles-Emile-Auguste Carolus-Duran

Bio

Carolus-Duran studied drawing at the academy in Lille with the sculptor Augustin-Phidias Cadet de Beaupré, but by the age of 15 had begun an apprenticeship in the studio of one of David’s former pupils, François Souchon. After moving to Paris in 1853, where he took classes at the Académie Suisse, Carolus-Duran quickly made the acquaintance of a number of his artistic contemporaries, including Fantin-Latour, Courbet, Manet, and Monet, with whom he would establish life-long friendships.

After traveling Spain and Italy, the artist, in 1872, opened a studio in Paris. Carolus-Duran’s atelier was popular among young artists due, in part, to his accomplishment and success on the Paris art scene, and, in part, because the studio presented a more supportive atmosphere than the stringent, conservative training offered at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The studio proved particularly attractive to expatriate artists, such as John Singer Sargent, who eventually became a close friend of the master, painting the reverent portrait of Carolus-Duran now in the Clark Art Institute.

Such personal homages were matched by equally strong public recognition. Carolus-Duran was a founding member of the Socitété Nationale des Beaux-Arts as well as serving for a time as its president. He was made a chevalier in the French Legion of Honor and was named the Director of the French Academy in Rome in 1905.