Jules Joseph Lefebvre was a French figure painter, educator and theorist.
Winner of the coveted Prix de Rome in 1861, Lefebvre fulfilled his early promise both as a painter of meticulously executed portraits (and nudes) and as a teacher: he was a professor at the Académie Julian and is remembered today mostly as an excellent and sympathetic teacher who numbered many Americans amongst his 1500 or more pupils. During his long career, he picked up three Salon medals, was appointed to the French Academy of Fine Arts, and attained the rank of Commander in the Legion of Honor.
Let’s not forget that Jules Joseph Lefebvre painted some most excellent nudes.
