Leon Bazille Perrault Biography | Oil Paintings

Leon Bazille Perrault at the age of nineteen, obtained a municipal scholarship of 600 Francs (equal to US$15,000 today) to study at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Academic painter François-Édouard Picot, and later studied under William-Adolphe Bouguereau because they were friends, Perrault may have worked alongside Bouguereau and been inspired by him, but Picot was his formal teacher.

Leon Bazille Perrault's pictures satisfied the public's craving for delicate compositions, and they often focused on mythological scenes, but also children, nudes, genre scenes, and even military scenes. Leon Perrault found fame with those paintings that showed a delicate and idealized version of life, In appealing to the bourgeoisie, Perrault was providing subject matter that was very popular with Salon jurors and the public at large.

Regardless of whether Perrault's young models were depicted playing a game, positioned against a background of flowers, or set inside a fanciful story and setting, they all exude qualities of innocence and childish beauty. Moreover, his focus on children appealed to the growing cult of childhood that saw children not as miniature grown-ups but as beings with their characteristics.

Leon Bazile Perrault also exhibited in Vienna, London, Boston, and Philadelphia and won numerous medals in these exhibitions, and was later appointed, in 1873, to represent France as "Diplômât d'Honneur" to Vienna, Philadelphia, and London. In 1876, at the Paris Salon, his St Jean le Precurseur won him a second-class medal, in 1878 he won another second award.

Léon Bazile Perrault also became a member of the Société des Artistes Français and by the end of his career was “hors concours” at the Salon, allowing him to exhibit freely without the necessity of submitting work for jury acceptance. Léon Bazille Perrault continued to exhibit at the Salons until the end of his career.

Art Movement: Academic Art.
Artists Influencing Leon Bazille Perrault: François-Édouard Picot, William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
He Traveled To Austria, England, USA.
Artist Biography compiled by Albert L. Mansour at The World's Artist, with text adapted from Wikipedia.