Jean-Gabriel Domergue

Sun Bath in the Garden - Original lithograph - Mourlot, 1956

1956

Jean-Gabriel Domergue was born in Bordeaux in 1889. As a talented and precocious young painter, Domergue was already exhibiting works at seventeen for the Salon Des Artistes Français in Paris. In 1913, he was awarded the prestigious Second Prize of Rome, later winning the gold medal in the 1920 show. Domergue painted over 3000 portraits during his lifetime, from nude portrayals of fashionable actresses and young dancers to prized aristocratic sitters, such as Liane de Pougy and Nadine, the Baroness of Rothschild. Domergue not only transformed the representation of women in paint, but held an important role in the evolution of women’s fashion in France from the 1930’s onwards, designing dresses and hats for numerous famous couturiers including Paul Poiret and Henry Marque. Domergue was made Knight of the Legion of Honour and a Fellow of the French Academy of Fine Arts.