Paul Alexandre Alfred Leroy

(French, 1860-1942)

Les joueuses d'osselet

Footnotes

Exhibited
Paris, Musée Marmottan Monet, L'Orient des peintres, du rêve à la lumière, March - July 2019.

Born in Paris, Paul Alexandre Leroy started his artistic training in Odessa, Russia, where he had spent his childhood. In 1877, he joined the National School of Fine Art in Paris and studied under Alexandre Cabanel.

From 1881, he started to exhibit at the Salon of French Artists and obtained a travel grant which enabled him to visit Italy. In 1884, he was awarded the Prix de Salon for his painting "Mardochée". From 1885 to 1887, Leroy travelled extensively in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey; he also visited Algeria with the painter Charles Landelle. Here he was to find the inspiration that defined his work, and he became so absorbed by Arab civilization that he studied Oriental languages on his return to Paris. At this time, he began a long friendship with Arthur Chassériau and Etienne Dinet which, under the guidance of the art historian Léonce Bénédite, and with fellow artists Charles Cottet and ten other members, resulted in the formation of the Société des Orientalistes Français in 1895. Paul Leroy designed the emblem of the movement: the Hand of Fatma on the Star of Solomon.

He was awarded a silver medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1900 and also exhibited at the Colonial Exhibition in 1906, 1922 and 1931. In 1908, Leroy was awarded the great honour of being made Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.

A passionate collector, Leroy assembled an important collection of Islamic earthenware and Berberian fabrics, and thanks to the generosity of his friend Charles Landelle, he had a huge collection of Turkish and Persian earthenware in his studio.

His work can be seen in many public collections, including The Louvre and the Musée du Luxembourg.

See also:
Sacha Leroy, Un maitre de la peinture française Paul Leroy (1860-1942), Sa vie et son œuvre, Catalogue de ses principaux tableaux, 1974.
Léonce Bénédite, La Peinture française au XIXème siècle, Flammarion, p.205.