Louis-Théodore Devilly Explained

Louis-Théodore Devilly (28 October 1818, Metz24 December 1886, Nancy) was a French painter who specialized in military and Orientalist scenes; associated with the .

Biography

He came from a family of booksellers.^[1] His father, Louis-Jean-Baptiste (1792-1826), was a member of the and a prominent Mason. Following his father's death, his mother, Félicité Constance Gentil, took over the bookshop, but he was more attracted to drawing and sketching.^[2]

From 1833 to 1835, he attended classes taught by Laurent-Charles Maréchal, the founder of the École de Metz. He then went to Paris, where he became a student of Paul Delaroche at the École des beaux-arts de Paris. In addition to oil painting, he practiced engraving and worked with watercolors. In 1840, he exhibited at the Salon.^[3]

He returned to Metz in 1841, but continued to exhibit in Paris; winning a silver medal at the Salon of 1852. He became especially well known for his huge canvases of historical scenes; mostly battles. In 1864, he was named Director of the

Following the Franco-Prussian War, he remained loyal to France and moved away from Metz, which had become part of the German Empire. He settled in Nancy and took over management of the, a post he held until his death in 1886.

Further reading

• Marguerite Sido, "Théodore Devilly (1818-1886), de Metz à Nancy. Biographie. Essai de catalogue raisonné "; Nancy 2 University, 2000, 356 p.
• Pierre Brasme, La Moselle et ses artistes, Éd. Serpenoise, Metz, 2002, pp. 61–63
• Henri Claude, La Lorraine vue par les peintres, Serge Domini, Thionville, 2003, pp. 47–48, 106, 116

Notes and References

1. André Bellard :"Laurent-Charles Maréchal, l'École de Metz", in Les cahiers lorrains, S.H.A.L., Metz, 1959.
2. Émile Auguste Nicolas Jules Bégin: Biographie de la Moselle, reprinted by the University of Michigan, 2009
3. Société des artistes français. Salon : Explication des ouvrages de peinture et dessins, sculpture, architecture et gravure, des artistes vivants, Paris, 1885.