LOS ANGELES, CA.- Annette Bourrut Lacouture, President of the Jules Breton Foundation, and a direct descendant of Jules Breton and his daughter Virginie, is pleased to announce the expansion of the Foundation’s research program with a major new initiative. Alongside the ongoing preparation of the Catalogue Raisonné of drawings by Jules Breton (1827–1906), the Foundation has now begun work on the Catalogue Raisonné of his daughter, Virginie Demont-Breton (1859–1935). This new project reflects the Foundation’s commitment to supporting the broader artistic legacy of the Breton family. With exclusive access to the extensive Breton family archives including family diaries, letters and sketchbooks, the Jules Breton Foundation is uniquely qualified to complete this work.

A central figure in advancing women’s participation in the arts at the end of the nineteenth century, Virginie Demont-Breton helped establish, together with her husband, the painter Adrien Demont, the École de Wissant, which brought together French and Belgian artists on the Opal Coast in the 1890s. She exhibited at the Salon from the age of twenty, received numerous official honors, and in 1894 became the second woman painter, after Rosa Bonheur, to be decorated with the Légion d’Honneur. Her powerful coastal scenes, often depicting fishermen’s families, were admired by Vincent van Gogh, who made a copy of her celebrated painting L’Homme est en mer (Her Man is at Sea).

A passionate advocate for women artists, she was active in the Union des Femmes Peintres et Sculpteurs, serving as its president from 1895 to 1901, during which time women finally gained full access to training at the École des Beaux-Arts and eligibility for the Prix de Rome.

In response to increasing requests from collectors and institutions, the Foundation will now review works by Virginie Demont-Breton for potential inclusion in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné, in parallel with its continuing research on Jules Breton.

Inquiries should be directed to: info@julesbreton.com