Emile-Henri Laporte 1841-1919

Émile-Henri Laporte was born on January 26, 1841, in Paris. He was the son of a watchmaker and a seamstress and had a younger sister, Marie-Zélie (1847–1922). He was raised by his grandparents in Colmar and later in Troyes, before returning to Paris at the age of thirteen. There, he began an apprenticeship as an engraver on copper, which he eventually abandoned, and subsequently enrolled at the municipal drawing school on rue des Petits-Carreaux.

Laporte later became a free student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, studying in the ateliers of Charles Gleyre and Isidore Pils. He first exhibited at the Salon in 1864, presenting two works: Bethsabée and a portrait of a woman. That same year, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who was also exhibiting at the Salon, painted Laporte’s portrait. The two men appear to have been close friends from the late 1850s, sharing Gleyre’s atelier and even living together around 1862 at 29 Place Dauphine, in the Laporte family residence. Renoir also painted a portrait of Marie-Zélie Laporte (1864, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Limoges), who would marry Gustave Peignot (1839–1899) a few weeks later.

Between 1866 and 1870, Laporte regularly exhibited at the Salon, showing pastoral, Orientalist, and landscape works. At this time, he resided at 45 rue Joubert. In January 1871, he participated in the execution of a private commission, the suite Binant. He continued to exhibit at the Salon from 1874 to 1879, typically presenting two works per year, including portraits, landscapes, decorative panels, and drawings. Admitted to the Salon des Artistes Français, he exhibited there in 1880 and 1881.

From 1875 onward, Laporte concluded his career as director of the municipal drawing school of the 2nd arrondissement of Paris on rue des Petits-Carreaux, and later as director of the École d’art Étienne-Marcel on rue aux Ours. He eventually settled in Ville-d’Avray, where he became mayor. He named the Fondation Taylor, of which he was a member, as his universal legatee. Émile-Henri Laporte died in Ville-d’Avray on February 7, 1919.