1. Maximilien-Jules-Constant Luce was born on 13 March 1858 in Paris.
21 Facts About Maximilien Luce
1. 2.
In 1872, the fourteen-year-old Luce became an apprentice with wood-engraver Henri Theophile Hildebrand.
3.
Maximilien Luce moved with his family to the southern Paris suburb of Montrouge.
4.
Maximilien Luce began working in the studio of Eugene Froment in 1876, producing wood-engravings for various publications, including L'Illustration and London's The Graphic.
5.
Maximilien Luce took additional art courses, at l'Academie Suisse, and in the studio of portrait painter Carolus-Duran.
6.
Maximilien Luce spent four years in the military, starting in 1879, serving in Brittany at Guingamp.
7.
In contrast to Seurat's detached manner, Maximilien Luce's paintings were passionate portrayals of contemporary subjects, depicting the "violent effects of light".
8.
Maximilien Luce joined the Societe des Artistes Independants and participated in their third spring exhibition, where Paul Signac purchased one of his pieces, La Toilette.
9.
Camille Pissarro and critic Felix Feneon were impressed by the seven Maximilien Luce works displayed in the show.
10.
Maximilien Luce had his first solo exhibition, arranged by Feneon, in July 1888, exhibiting ten paintings at the La Revue independante offices.
11.
Maximilien Luce showed six paintings at the 1889 Les XX exhibition in Brussels.
12.
Maximilien Luce's work was featured in the ninth Les XX exhibition, in 1892.
13.
Maximilien Luce depicted a diverse range of subjects in his works over a long career.
14.
Maximilien Luce aligned with the Neo-impressionists not only in their artistic techniques, but in their political philosophy of anarchism.
15.
On 8 July 1894, Maximilien Luce, suspected of involvement in the 24 June assassination of President of France Marie Francois Sadi Carnot, was arrested and was confined to Mazas Prison.
16.
Maximilien Luce published Mazas, an album consisting of ten lithographs documenting the experiences of himself and other political prisoners incarcerated in Mazas; accompanying the lithographs was text by Jules Valles.
17.
In 1896, while King Alfonso XIII of Spain was visiting Paris, the police detained Maximilien Luce on the grounds that he was a "dangerous anarchist".
18.
Maximilien Luce became his model, companion, common-law wife, and wife.
19.
Maximilien Luce was frequently a model for him, appearing in many of his works, often partially or fully nude, other times depicted in scenes such as on a balcony or combing her hair.
20.
Maximilien Luce died at his Paris home on 7 February 1941, at the age of 83.
21.
Maximilien Luce was among the most productive of the Neo-impressionists, creating over two thousand oil paintings, a comparably large number of watercolors, gouaches, pastels, and drawings, plus over a hundred prints.