Théodule Ribot, born in Saint-Nicolas-d'Attez on August 8, 1823 and died in Colombes on September 11, 1891, is a French painter, etcher and watercolorist, attached to the realism movement.
The son of a civil engineer, Augustin Théodule Ribot began his artistic career after his father's death in 1840. He turned to geometric works and linear drawing before devoting himself to painting. In Paris since 1845, he was employed as a workshop clerk and took classes from the painter Auguste-Barthélemy Glaize.
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After a three-year stay in Algeria to supervise construction, he returned to Paris in 1851 and devoted himself to painting while working for industrialists. His career took off at the Salon of 1861, where he presented canvases of kitchen and farmyard interiors.
Ribot received several awards, including a 3rd class medal at the Salons of 1864 and 1865, as well as a 3rd class medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1878. In 1871, he settled in Colombes where he produced most of his work. Highly honored, he received few guests and withdrew into himself despite the recognition of his contemporaries.
In 1884, his friends, including Henri Fantin-Latour, Eugène Boudin, and Claude Monet, offered him a banquet in his honor, accompanied by a medal engraved: "To Théodule Ribot, independent artist". Named a knight of the Legion of Honor in 1878 and promoted to officer in 1887, Ribot was also the father of the painter Germain-Théodore Ribot and Louise-Aimée Ribot, as well as the uncle of the actress Berthe Legrand.
He is buried in Paris in the Montparnasse cemetery (29th division).
Théodule Ribot is known for his work faithful to realism, approaching everyday scenes with a detailed eye and a keen sense of observation. His contributions to painting, as well as his activities as an etcher and watercolorist, marked his time. His last years in Colombes were marked by an illness that gradually distanced him from painting, despite the support and admiration of his peers.
His artistic legacy lives on through his works exhibited in prestigious collections, and his recognition as an independent artist remains an important mark of his influence in the art world.
