Jules-Joseph Lefebvre was born in Tournan (Siene-et-Marne) May 14, 1836 and died in Paris February 24, 1911. He was considered an important genre and portrait painter from the French School.

In 1852, Jules Lefebvre began his formal training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts as a pupil of Jules Louis Philippe Cogniet (1798-1860). Upon completing his studied, Lefebvre traveled to Italy to study. In 1861, he debuted and won the Prix de Rome. It wasn’t until three years later that he debuted at the Paris Salon.

After his return to France in 1867, he was increasingly successful, receiving the first award of the Legion d’Honneur in 1870, becoming a member of the Institute in 1891 and rising to commandeur of the Legion d’Honneur in 1898. He was awarded the medal of honour at the 1886 Salon and a grand prix at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. At the Alexandre Dumas Sale of 13 May 1892, Lefebvre’s Femme nue realized 25,000 francs. It was his teaching activities, particularly at the Academic Julian, which made him a figure of renown and respect amongst Salon applicants. Lefebvre himself was a stalwart Salon exhibitor.

Museums:
Musée Amiens
Musée de Lyon
Musée de Louvre
Listed:
E. Benezit, vol.6, ppg. 534-5
Bryan’s Dictionary
Champlin & Perkins Cyclopedia
Dictionaire biographique des Artists
Thieme-Becker Lexicon
Index of Artists Mallet

Bibliography:
The Studios of Paris, John Milner. Ppgs. 10,12,.25,50,56,91,106,127,52,123
The History on Impressionism, John Renwald, pg.406
American art at the Nineteenth-Century Paris Salons, Lois Marie Fink, pg. 134,136
Beyond Impressionism, the NaturalImpulse, Gabriel P. Weisberg, pg. 159,163, 65