Born in Paris on March 19, 1833, Auguste Allongé entered the Imperial School of Fine Arts in 1852, where he studied under Léon Cogniet and Ducornet. In 1853, he received a medal, marking the beginning of a promising artistic career. Specializing in landscape art, he developed an exceptional mastery of charcoal, which he helped elevate to the status of a finished work thanks to his research on light and values.
In 1873, he published a treatise on charcoal drawing, which was quickly translated into several languages and became a reference in art education. At the same time, he taught drawing and shared his vision with many students. The painter and art critic Émile Michel said of him: "Lengthened is charcoal drawing, and charcoal drawing is Lengthened," thus cementing his reputation.
Close to the Barbizon School, he joined the second Marlotte group, affirming his belonging to the great currents of 19th-century landscape. In 1896, he worked in his Parisian studio located at 6, passage Stanislas. Auguste Allongé died in Bourron-Marlotte on July 4, 1898. In tribute to his work, a street in the town now bears his name.
