Forain, Jean-Louis

(1852-1931)

   painter, lithographer, engraver

   Born in Reims, Jean-Louis Forain was self-taught except for a year of study with the sculptor jean-baptiste carpeaux. He was a friend of the writers of the period (paul verlaine, arthur rimbaud, joris-karl huysmans), and also knew and exhibited with the impressionists. He became famous as a caricaturist and, after 1893, produced a large number of works of political satire, and was a cofounder of the satirical journals Fifre and Psst'. Influenced by honoré daumier and henri de toulouse-lautrec,he portrayed scenes of Parisian life with a caustic sense of irony (Nous, vous, eux, 1893). His watercolors, pastels, and paintings reveal his admiration for Edouard manet and edgar degas. In his later years, Forain portrayed religious subjects in a style reminiscent of Rembrandt.