Alexandre de Latour

Alexandre de Latour, or Delatour (22 May 1780, Brussels – 5 November 1858, Brussels)[1] was a Belgian miniaturist. He also produced a few small format oil paintings.

Young woman in a riding outfit, c.1820
Portrait of an unidentified man, 1810s

Life and work

He received his first lessons in his family home, from his mother, the painter Marie de Latour née Simons, who specialized in miniatures. He also trained with the famous miniaturist, Louis-Marie Autissier, at his studio in Brussels, as well as in Paris with Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin (1802).[2]

His artistic style developed through three regimes; the French First Republic, Napoleonic France, and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was during the latter that he came to the attention of King William I, who appointed him an official miniaturist for the House of Orange. He held a similar position following the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1831, and was known for his ability to paint accurate portraits from memory.

He was a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) and the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam. He trained numerous students, including his own son, Édouard (1817-1863), who was a genre painter.

From 1804 to 1810, he held regular exhibits at the Paris Salon.[3] He also had a major showing at the Salon in Lille (1822).[4]

His works may be seen at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Liège, and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, which has portraits of his parents and a self-portrait.

References
  1. Entry on De Latour @ the RKD
  2. Paul Piron, Dictionnaire des artistes plasticiens de Belgique des XIXe et XXe siècles, Ohain-Lasne, 2003, tome A-K, p. 372.
  3. Exhibition sheet, Salon 1810, Base Salons of the Musée d'Orsay.
  4. Exhibition sheet, Salon de Lille 1822, Base Salons of the Musée d'Orsay.

Further reading
  • Eugène De Seyn, Dictionnaire biographique des sciences, des lettres et des arts en Belgique, Brussels, 1935, Vol.I, p. 278.
  • Exposition de la miniature à Bruxelles, G. Van Oest, 1912
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