Emile Loubon

Famous french painter for his paintings of the provence. Born in Aix-en-Provence in 1803, he studied in the Ecole de Dessin d'Aix, where he will be noticed by Granet. He will eventually teach in the Ecole de Beaux Arts de Marseille, where his methods (like open air painting which contrasted with the academic approach of practicing in the atelier) will leave a lasting influence on a generation of young artists. Raphaël Ponson, Fabius Brest ou François Simon, all students of his, are among them.

Partly influenced by the work of the Barbizon painters, Loubon is mostly known for his production of landscapes. In particular, he was devoted to render the contrast grandeur of Provence, its beauty but also its harshness, the harshness of rural life. He focuses on scenes from everyday peasant life, where man works with nature and animals to earn his daily bread.

But his legacy goes beyond paintings. In 1846, Loubon founded the Salon de la Société des Amis des Arts, where the painters he frequented at the time in Paris would exhibit: Delacroix, Corot and other Barbizon painters such as Théodore Rousseau.