Emile Delobre

While not as well-known as some of his contemporaries, EmileVictor Auguste Delobre has risen in stature among the names of the French Impressionist movement over the last two decades. Delobre was born in Paris in 1873 and the facts of his life speak of a young man whose enchantment with art began at an early age.

At age 14 Emile was already enrolled in the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs and by 17 he was studying at the revered École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, instructed and inspired by the visionary Gustave Moreau, among others. His fellow classmates included Matisse, Marquet, Roualt, Dufy, and Manguin.

While at Beaux-Arts, and later at Paris Salons where he chose to exhibit, he won numerous prizes and was met with great acclaim. And while already an "an accomplished painter," Delobre was "discovered" by Nathan Wildenstein at the Louvre, copying a picture with his accustomed skill and accuracy. Legend has it that Wildenstein was so impressed that, then and there, he asked Delobre to come work for him and Delobre worked at Wildenstein's gallery as a consultant-restorer until he retired at age 72.