Joseph Fortuné Séraphin Layraud (15 October 1834 – 12 October 1912) was a French painter. There is no complete clearance as to the birth' and the death' dates. Some sources refer to 1833–1913. [1] [2] His range included historical scenes and figures, religious and mythological subjects, landscapes, and portraits of contemporaries. [3]
Layraud was born at La Roche-sur-le-Buis in south-eastern France. After beginning his training in Marseilles in 1853 he moved to Paris in 1856, studying at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts under Léon Cogniet and Tony Robert-Fleury. He was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1863. [4]
After his time in Rome, Layraud travelled in Italy and Portugal, painting landscapes, he did some history paintings and many portraits. [3] From 1892 he was a professor at the Académie des beaux-arts in Valenciennes. His pupils included Jules Chaine, Max Albert Decrouez, Grégoire Nicolas Finez, Lucien Hector Jonas, Charles Paris, Maurice Rufin and Alfred Léon Sauvage. [4] [5]
Layraud exhibited at the Paris Salon, winning medals in 1872; his work was shown at the 1889 and 1900 Expositions Universelles. [4]
Layraud was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1890 and was promoted to Officer in 1903. He died 1913 on his birth day, in Valenciennes. [4]
Layraud's works are on show in French galleries in:
The Musée des beaux-arts of his adopted city, Valenciennes, holds many works by Layraud, including Bulls Brought Out and many portraits of which that of Liszt is among the best known. [4] [6]
Internationally, Layraud's work is displayed in Melbourne (Italian Highwaymen), the Ajuda National Palace, [4] and Smith College Museum of Art, Massachusetts (Portrait de Pierre Dupont). [7]