This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
 A specialist in floral still lives, especially informal arrangements, Raoul M. De Longpre was born in Lyons, Paris into an aristocratic, albeit poor, family that were "fleuristes", persons associated with flower painting whose center was Lyons. His father, Jean Antoine, decorated fans and exhibited floral still lifes in Paris and Lyons.
He began drawing at a young age. By the time he was twelve he was earning a living painting flowers on fans for a firm in Paris. He worked and studied with his brother, Paul De Longpre, who became a major figure in flower painting and settled in California.
At age 21, Raoul De Longpre began exhibiting in the Paris Salon. Whether or not he traveled to America is unknown, but his painting circulated widely in America, likely through the efforts of his brother. His works today are museum collections including the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.
Source:
Spanierman Galleries, Ltd., "Fine American Art from 1845 to 1960"
Source:
http://www.derusfinearts.com/delongpre.asp
http://www.trocadero.com/averyart/directory/Fine_Art.html
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Biography from Roughton Galleries,Inc:
| Please note: Artists not classified as American in our database may have limited biographical data
compared to the extensive information about American artists.
Floral painter Raoul Maucherat de Longpré was born in Lyons, Paris on September 13, 1859 to Jean-Antoine-Marie-Victor and Marie-Therese Pinchaud de Longpré. The de Longprés were a family of artists, and most noted was his brother Paul de Longpre. Raoul began his studies at a very young age with his brother Paul. The young prodigy was earning living painting flowers on fans for a firm in Paris by the age of 12.
Raoul de Longpre debuted at the Paris Salon of 1877. He exhibited a gouache of "Lilacs" and one of "Lilacs and Chrysanthemums", and at the 1880 Salon, he exhibited "Peonies and Lilacs". In 1890, Paul de Longpré left for the United States, and Raoul remained in Paris, where he married Eugenie Rongieres in 1901.
Raoul, like his brother based his florals on scientific studies that he made of flowers while living in Paris, as witnessed by his attention to a high degree of accuracy. His favorite flower was the lilac, which he often combined with roses or other blooms to formulate a still life. Aware of the flower language in literature, Raoul’s use of white lilacs symbolized "youthful innocence", and when combined with roses, they represented "purity," "love" or "beauty." Depending on the color of the rose, a bouquet of red roses and white lilacs symbolized "youthfulness and first love."
Raoul's paintings generally revealed three compositional types: newly cut flowers on a floor or other surface, which have been strewn at random; flowers, often roses and lilacs, arranged on a stone ledge or plinth; and bouquets which appear to float in the air. Different than the works of his brother Paul, Raoul’s floral still lifes focused entirely on the blooms themselves.
Although there is no record of Raoul de Longpré traveling to the United States, according to an article in the Rocky Mountain News, July 27, 1883 a painting, "Roses and Lilacs" by Raoul M. de Longpré, Paris, was on exhibition in Denver, Colorado. It is very possible that Paul de Longpré worked as Raoul's agent in the United States.
Museums:
Fleischer Museum, California
Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum in Rochester, New York;
Brockton Art Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts
Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh, PA
National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. |
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