Artist Birthdays - December 21

Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 - March 1879)

Couture was an influential French history painter and teacher of later luminaries such as Manet. He exhibited at the École des Beaux-Arts earning several medals for his works, in particular for his 1847 masterpiece, Romans in the Decadence of the Empire. He wasn't always successful in the art world, and in 1867, he thumbed his nose at the academic establishment by publishing a book on his own ideas and working methods called "Méthode et entretiens d'atelier" (Method and workshop interviews). It was also translated to "Conversations on Art Methods" in 1879, the year he died. Interested in learning more about Thomas Couture, see this link http://hoocher.com/Thomas_Couture/Thomas_Couture.htm

http://www.neoclassicism.us/Content/TheUsesOfAntiquity

Romans of the Decadence, 1847

For those of you interested in design and dynamic symmetry, have a look at Stapleton Kearns explanation of Couture's famous painting Romans of the Decadence, 1847 .

http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.ca/2011/04/decadent-romans-dimed-out.html