Pierre Auguste Cot

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Pierre Auguste Cot (born Bédarieux February 17, 1837, died 1883) was a French painter of the Academic Classicism school.

[edit] Biography

He initially studied at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse before going to Paris. He studied under Leon Cogniet, Alexandre Cabanel and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. From the 1870s, his popularity grew quickly. In 1874 he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He created several works of lasting popularity, including Le Printemps, featuring two young lovers sitting upon a swing, and The Storm. Both these paintings were until recently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; The Storm belongs to the museum while Le Printemps is owned privately.

Cot also was renowned for his portraits, which made up the majority of his work. The more enduring figurative work, such as The Storm, is comparatively rare.

[edit] Selected Works

Ophelia, 1870

Dionysia, (1870) - Chi-Mei Museum, Taiwan
Ophelia, (1870)
Spring (Le Printemps) (1873), and Day of the Dead, Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida.
The Storm (La Tempête), (1880)
The Reading light (La Liseuse), (about 1880)
The Gypsy (La Bohémienne)