Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer (1865 - 1953)

Genre painter, pastellist and sculptor, pupil of Collin, Vion and Wallet. He appears at the Salon des Artistes Français and obtains an honourable mention in 1896, a bronze medal in 1900 at the Universal Exhibition. He was made a knight of the Legion of Honour in 1902. He has been associated with the Salon de la Nationale des Beaux-Arts since 1906.

During his long career, Lévy-Dhurmer practised various techniques, in particular ceramics, which influenced his work as a pastellist, to which he devoted himself almost entirely from 1896 onwards. His first monographic exhibition took place the same year at the Galerie Georges Petit and was an immediate success in both artistic and literary circles. It was during this period that he painted portraits of Pierre Loti, Rodenbach and Marguerite Moreno. Lévy-Dhurmer's works are close to the symbolist aesthetic. He also attracted the sympathy of artists such as Émile Bernard and Gustave Moreau.

Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer is a painter of the soul, he never ceases to suggest feelings, interpretations and emotions. He is part of the intimist movement illustrated by Charles Cottet, Ernest Laurent, Henri le Sidaner and René Ménard. He is in many French museums.