Euphémie Muraton 1836-1914

“Mrs. Muraton studied flowers with a very penetrating attention; she knew how to capture, with broad, luminous, and precise strokes, the intimate physiognomy of the various species and their delicate personality,” wrote the art critic Octave Robin in 1888, praising the singular way in which Euphémie Muraton made flower painting one of her major specialties and a key milestone of her renown.

Born Euphémie Duhanot into a family of artists, she completed her training under her husband, the painter Alphonse Muraton (1824–1911), adopting his surname as her signature. Settled in Paris from the 1860s, she quickly chose to devote herself almost exclusively to still-life painting. In 1864, she exhibited her first works at the Salon, drawing attention for the subtle sensitivity of her colors and the rigor of her compositions. From then on, she participated regularly in the annual Salons until 1913, presenting a refined production oscillating between lush bouquets, flowered interiors, and delicate compositions evoking the intimate aesthetic of the Dutch schools.

Exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes Français from 1880, she was repeatedly awarded honors. She received a bronze medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle and another medal in 1893 at the Chicago Exposition, where her work was noted in the section dedicated to women artists in the Woman’s Building. Alongside Hélène Bertaux, she actively contributed to the founding of the Union of Women Painters and Sculptors in 1881, participating in their first exhibition the following year at the Cercle des Arts Libéraux. Ever concerned with promoting women’s creation, she also took part in the 1895 and 1896 exhibitions of the Société des Femmes Artistes at the Galerie Georges Petit.

Based in the Montparnasse district, she trained her son Louis Muraton, who would go on to have a successful career as an animal painter. Faithful to an art of finesse and restraint, Euphémie Muraton died in 1914, leaving behind a discreet but well-regarded body of work in which meticulous observation of reality is paired with a quiet poetry, creating a dialogue between still life and inner life.

[1] Robin, O., Catalogue de 40 tableaux par Mme Euphémie Muraton, Hôtel Drouot, salle n° 8, Monday, March 26, 1888, Me Paul Chevallier, pp. 6–7.