Théophile Thoré-Bürger
Encyclopedia
Étienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré (better known as Théophile Thoré-Bürger) (23 June 1807 – 30 April 1869) was a French journalist
and art critic
. He is best known today for his rediscovery of the work of painter Johannes Vermeer
.
, Sarthe
. His career as art critic started in the 1830s, but he was also active as a political journalist. In March 1848 he founded La Vraie République, a newspaper that was soon banned by Louis-Eugène Cavaignac. A year later, in March 1849, he founded another newspaper, Le Journal de la vraie République; that too was soon banned. Thoré-Bürger went into exile to Brussels
. He continued publishing articles, now under the pseudonym William Bürger. He only returned to France after the amnesty
of 1859. He died in Paris ten years later.
Today, Thoré-Bürger is best known for rediscovering the work of Johannes Vermeer
and several other prominent Dutch artists, such as Frans Hals
(he was the first to describe the portrait of Malle Babbe
), Carel Fabritius
, and others. Thoré-Bürger's interest in Vermeer began in 1842 when he saw the View of Delft
in the Mauritshuis
of The Hague
. Vermeer's name was wholly unknown at the time; Thoré-Bürger was so impressed with the View of Delft that he spent the years before his exile searching for other works by the painter. He would eventually publish descriptions and a catalogue of Vermeer's work, although many of the paintings he attributed to the master were later proven to have been executed by others.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and art critic
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
. He is best known today for his rediscovery of the work of painter Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
.
Biography
Thoré-Bürger was born in La FlècheLa Flèche
La Flèche is a municipality located in the French department of Sarthe and the region of Pays de la Loire in the Loire Valley. This is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton. This is the second most populous city of the department. The city is part...
, Sarthe
Sarthe
Sarthe is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.- History :The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and...
. His career as art critic started in the 1830s, but he was also active as a political journalist. In March 1848 he founded La Vraie République, a newspaper that was soon banned by Louis-Eugène Cavaignac. A year later, in March 1849, he founded another newspaper, Le Journal de la vraie République; that too was soon banned. Thoré-Bürger went into exile to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. He continued publishing articles, now under the pseudonym William Bürger. He only returned to France after the amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
of 1859. He died in Paris ten years later.
Today, Thoré-Bürger is best known for rediscovering the work of Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
and several other prominent Dutch artists, such as Frans Hals
Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
(he was the first to describe the portrait of Malle Babbe
Malle Babbe
Malle Babbe is a painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals, painted between 1633 and 1635 and now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. The painting has also been titled as Hille Bobbe or the Witch of Haarlem...
), Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius
Carel Fabritius was a Dutch painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils.-Biography:Fabritius was born in Beemster, the ten-year old polder, as the son of a schoolteacher. Initially he worked as a carpenter . In the early 1640s he studied at Rembrandt's studio in Amsterdam, along with his...
, and others. Thoré-Bürger's interest in Vermeer began in 1842 when he saw the View of Delft
View of Delft (Vermeer)
View of Delft is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer. Painted ca. 1660-1661, the painting of the Dutch artist's hometown is among his most popular. Painted at a time when cityscapes were not commonplace, it is one of three known paintings of Delft by Vermeer, along with The Little Street and the...
in the Mauritshuis
Mauritshuis
The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis is an art museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter and Frans...
of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. Vermeer's name was wholly unknown at the time; Thoré-Bürger was so impressed with the View of Delft that he spent the years before his exile searching for other works by the painter. He would eventually publish descriptions and a catalogue of Vermeer's work, although many of the paintings he attributed to the master were later proven to have been executed by others.
Selected publications
- Dictionnaire de phrénologie et de physiognomonie, à l'usage des artistes, des gens du monde, des instituteurs, des pères de famille, des jurés, etc., 1836 Available online
- La Vérité sur le parti démocratique, 1840 Available online
- Catalogue de dessins des grands maîtres, provenant du cabinet de M. Villenave, 1842
- Le Salon de 1844, précédé d'une lettre à Théodore RousseauThéodore RousseauPierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau , French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Paris, of a bourgeois family.-Youth:At first he received a business training, but soon displayed aptitude for painting...
, 1844 - Dessins de maîtres, Collection de feu M. Delbecq, de Gand, 1845 Available online
- Catalogue des estampes anciennes formant la collection de feu M. Delbecq, de Gand, 1845 Available online
- La Recherche de la liberté, 1845
- Le Salon de 1845, précédé d'une lettre à Béranger, 1845
- Le Salon de 1846, précédé d'une Lettre à George SandGeorge SandAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
, 1846 Available online - Le Salon de 1847, précédé d'une Lettre à Firmin Barrion, 1847 Available online
- Mémoires de Caussidière, ex-préfet de police et représentant du peuple, with Marc CaussidièreMarc CaussidièreMarc Caussidière was born in Geneva in 1808 and died in Paris in 1861. He was a significant personality of the French republican movement of the first half of the nineteenth century.-Biography:...
, 2 vol., 1849 Available online: 1, 2 - La Restauration de l'autorité, ou l'Opération césarienne, 1852
- Dans les bois, 1856
- En Ardenne, par quatre Bohémiens. Namur, Dinant, Han, Saint-Hubert, Houffalize, La Roche, Durbuy, Nandrin, Comblain, Esneux, Tilf, Spa, in collaboration with other writers, 1856
- Trésors d'art exposés à Manchester en 1857 et provenant des collections royales, des collections publiques et des collections particulières de la Grande-Bretagne, 1857
- Amsterdam et La Haye. Études sur l'école hollandaise, 1858
- Çà & là, 1858
- Musées de la Hollande, 2 vol., 1858–1860
- Études sur les peintres hollandais et flamands. Galerie d'Arenberg, à Bruxelles avec le catalogue complet de la collection, 1859
- Musée d'Anvers, 1862
- Trésors d'art en Angleterre, 1862
- Van der Meer (Ver Meer) de Delft, 1866
Published posthumously
- Les Salons : études de critique et d'esthétique, 3 vol., 1893
- Thoré-Bürger peint par lui-même : lettres et notes intimes, 1900 Available online