Pierre Letuaire (6 August 1798, in Toulon – 2 September 1885, in Toulon) was a French painter, designer and caricaturist.
Biography
He was born to a family of craftsmen and merchants. In 1815, not long after graduating from the Collège de Toulon his father, a master toolmaker, died and he became head of the family; a disabled mother and three siblings.Guyot de Fère et Vallotton-d'André (dir.), Journal des beaux-arts et de la littérature, Paris, 15 January 1842, p. 59. He worked primarily as a designer of letterheads, labels, and similar items.
In 1823, he became a professor of design at his alma mater, the Collège. He would occupy that post until 1867.Annuaire biographique des artistes français, peintres, sculpteurs, architectes, graveurs, musiciens, Guyot de Fère et D. de B. [bon de Boissy]. Éditeur : bureau du Journal des beaux-arts, Paris, 1841. During his tenure, he created free drawing classes, open to masons, carpenters and other professional trades, for which he was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1860, during a visit by Napoléon III.
In 1837, he accompanied French forces to the Siege of Constantine; bringing back numerous sketches and portraits.Valentin Devoisins, Pierre Letuaire, Vues et portraits, dess. (et lith.) par Letuaire pendant l'expédition de Constantine, avec Cartes et textes, Toulon, Turbert, 1837, cité par la Revue de l'art français ancien et moderne, Paris, Éditeur : Jean Schemit, 1935, p. 323. In 1840, he exhibited his large composition, "Un épisode de l'armée d'Algérie". In 1844, he became a press correspondent for L'Illustration, and held that position until 1869. He also provided illustrations for Le Mistral, La Provence artistique et pittoresque and Le Monde illustré.
In 1867, on the occasion of his retirement from the Collège, he was presented with the Ordre des Palmes académiques and, the following year, he was appointed a municipal Councilor. His students included Vincent Courdouan and .
He died of cholera, aged eighty-seven.La Croix, Paris, 5 septembre 1885. The street where he was born was named after him. Many of his works may be seen at the .
References
Further reading André Alauzen and Laurent Noet, Dictionnaire des peintres et sculpteurs de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Éditions Jeanne Laffitte, 2006 J. R. Soubiran, Hommage à Pierre Letuaire (1798-1885) (exhibition catalog), Imprimerie municipale, 1986
External links