Maxime-Pierre Jules Dethomas (; October 13, 1867 – January 21, 1929) was a French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, illustrator, and was among the best known theater-set and costume designers of his era.Huddleston, p.126 As an artist, Dethomas was highly regarded by his contemporaries and exhibited widely, both within France and abroad. He was a regular contributor to the Impressionistes et Symbolistes, and a founding committee member of the Salon d'Automne. In 1912, he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his contributions to French art.Vauxcelles, p.265-283
During the latter part of his career, he is remembered for his work overseeing set and costume design for the Théâtre des Arts and the Paris Opera. His works appear in many important national collections, including the Musée d'Orsay, the Hermitage Museum and the National Gallery of Art. A large collection of his theatrically related work is held at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris. Dethomas is also remembered for his close friendship with the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, his brother in-law Ignacio Zuloaga and his association with Les Nabis and other important Post-Impressionist and Symbolist artists and writers. Dethomas died in 1929 at the age of 61, and was buried at the Passy Cemetery, Paris.Prade, p.131
Early life and formal education
Born in the Paris suburb of Garges-lès-Gonesse in 1867, Maxime Dethomas was the eldest of six children, including four half-siblings. His family came from a long line of painter-printers on one side, and lawyers on the other. His father, Jean-Albert Dethomas (1842–1891), was an important Parisian politician and lawyer. His mother, Laure-Elizabeth Antoinette Béchet, died at the age of 27 in 1874. His step mother, Marie Louise Thierrée, belonged to the affluent middle-class of Bordeaux.Milhou 1991; Taylor, p.78
During 1885, Dethomas first met Augustine Bulteau (1860–1922), matriarch of the Parisian arts community and one-time wife of prominent author and playwright, Jules Ricard (1848–1903). Bulteau would go on to become a pivotal figure in his life, helping him navigate a difficult relationship with his father, guiding his academic direction and encouraging his development as an artist. Each year, Dethomas would take extended breaks at Bulteau's estates in Léry and Venice – trips that would feature prominently in his art.Milhou 1991, 288-289
In 1887, Dethomas enrolled at the École des Arts Décoratifs at which he studied briefly, preferring instead to pass much of his time at the bookshop of the Revue Indépendante, a favourite haunt of young artists and writers run by Édouard Dujardin. It was here that he first met Louis Anquetin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.Milhou 1991, p.51 It is an often repeated, yet erroneous claim that Dethomas' relationship with Toulouse-Lautrec was one of master and student – at least in the formal sense of the term – though their shared experiences and mutual respect for each other as artists was of undeniable consequence.Milhou 1991, p. 63 In an 1898 letter, Dethomas reflected on Toulouse-Lautrec's art: The things I see by him always give me an intense desire to work. The things of this boy, who, if he has no talent, certainly has a little genius, are always for me a whiplash [coup de fouet]. It's as if I was shown the way with a sudden invitation to advance. The master paintings do not give me that, we are stupefied with admiration. We are blocked, discouraged, after them we are let down, we are in prison.Milhou 1991, p.64
Disgruntled with his experiences at the École des Arts Décoratifs, Dethomas began taking informal instruction at the private workshop of the young master, Henri Gervex. In 1888, Gervex began his tenure as instructor at l'Académie Libre on rue Verniquet – Dethomas applied and was accepted, continuing his formal education under Gervex. During this period, Dethomas became firm friends with fellow Gervex student and future brother-in-law, Ignacio Zuloaga. Through Dethomas, Zuloaga gained entrée into French artistic circles; reciprocally, Zuloaga introduced Dethomas to other Spanish expatriate artists, including the so-called Catalan Band: Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, and Miquel Utrillo.Milhou 1979; 1991
The final phase of Dethomas' formal education commenced from 1891 onwards, where he followed a more varied course at the Académie de La Palette, 104 Boulevard de Clichy, Montmartre, under Henri Gervex, Puvis de Chavannes and Eugène Carrière.Taylor, p.78; Milhou 1991, p.289 Carrière's tutelage played a significant role in the early development of Dethomas' art, and he would go on to be a close friend of both the artist and his family.Milhou 1991
Art
Dethomas' early style owes most to the influence of Carrière and Degas, whilst later works tend more towards that of Toulouse-Lautrec, Anquetin and Forain.Wright, p.221 Dethomas claimed that his inspiration was guided by artists of earlier generations, particularly Goya, Delacroix and Manet, but his individuality of style ensured he would "not be influenced in his work by any methods or thoughts other than his own".Taylor, p.78 In 1905, influential critic Louis Vauxcelles praised Dethomas as a "shrewd and penetrating observer" that captured his subjects "with a powerful sobriety".Vauxcelles 1905, p.1
He realised vigorous drawings, and some few oil paintings, showing portraits, cafe scenes, and urban landscapes of Italy and Spain. He primarily worked with broad strokes in conté, graphite, charcoal and pastel, often enhanced by watercolour and the masterful use of the spatter brush, with drizzles and sprays of gouache reminiscent of Lautrec lithographs. From the late 1890s, he drew inspiration from Japanese prints – said to have been introduced to him by Toulouse-Lautrec – and developed a bold xylographic style which lent itself to woodcut reproduction.
Like many of his contemporaries, Dethomas explored various artistic mediums, including book illustrations, posters and print making. By 1895, he was designing programmes for Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre and exhibition and advertising posters with print makers such as Edward Ancourt, Eugène Verneau and Auguste Clot. With his drawings engraved by Léon Pichon and Emile Gasperini, he illustrated close to thirty books by many prominent authors including Maurice Donnay and Octave Mirbeau.
Dethomas engaged models from both within his social circle, as well as otherwise unremarkable characters from urban life, searching out peculiarities of appearance that betrayed the social facades of the fin de siècle. Having cut ties with his bourgeois pretensions during an 1891 move to Montmartre, Dethomas followed in the footsteps of his mentors, hungry to find authentic expression of the human condition amongst the daily struggles of the urban poor.Milhou 1991, p.65 "His characters are all scoundrels", joked Degas. Two such 'scoundrels' would go on to lead remarkable lives, in no small part due to their association with Dethomas. Then artist's model Suzanne Desprès became romantically involved with Dethomas in June, 1894, and continued to feature prominently in his art for some years, later becoming a famous actress and wife of theater director Lugné-Poe.Milhou 1991, p.107-120 Prior to meeting Picasso in 1904, Fernande Olivier would also model for Dethomas with some regularity, her memoirs painting a vivid picture of her time in Dethomas' studio:
Degas, an avid supporter of Dethomas, spoke highly of his work asserting "it has weight".Roger-Marx, 140 Described by Philippe Berthelot as "le meilleur fils de Degas", Dethomas nonetheless exhibited sparingly during the 1890s.Berthelot 1902, p.2 Contemporary accounts suggest a "supercilious modesty prevented him from over-exhibiting his work though no artists merchant forbade him". In a letter written by Lautrec in the summer of 1895 to Joseph Ricci, Lautrec refers to Dethomas as his dear friend and compliments him as a painter "who doesn’t talk about his paintings, something that is to be admired".Frey, p.411 Despite his early reluctance to exhibit, he participated in some of the most significant exhibitions of the 1890s. His first solo exhibition in 1900 marked a turning point in his willingness to accept notoriety, leading to considerable accolades and public recognition.
Dethomas' art passed through the hands of many prominent art dealers including Jos Hessel, Galerie Durand-Ruel and Galerie Druet. Consequently, many of his works were acquired by influential collectors including Olivier Sainsère and Sergei Shchukin. Dethomas is also known to have had his works framed by the frame-maker Pierre Cluzel (1850–1894), and his successor, Louis Vivien. Cluzel is the framer patronized by Edgar Degas, who was very concerned about presentation of his work.Blakenmore, Erin, Framing Degas: The French painter Edgar Degas was Impressionism’s most energetic and inventive frame designer, Jstor, October 16, 2022 In 1912, Dethomas was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his contributions to French art.
Theatre
From 1910 to 1913, Dethomas worked under Jacques Rouché during his tenure at the Théâtre des Arts. Upon assuming management of the theater, Rouché enlisted the talents of several artists who had contributed to his magazine, La Grande Revue, including Jacques Dresa, René Piot and Maxime Dethomas, none of which had previously worked for the stage.Garafola, p.86; Milhou 1991, p.164-171
As director of the services plastiques, Dethomas embarked on a career that would last for the remainder of his life. The Théâtre des Arts represented a major shift away from facile acting, shallow content and the painted-canvas drawing rooms of commercial theater that were the norm. The inaugural production, Le Carnaval des Enfants (1910), marked a major theatrical revolution by which Dethomas' settings accentuated line and colour, rather than a focus on painted detail and endless props. Against blue, ochre, grey and steel, black costumed characters created striking pictorial compositions in lighting effects that "varied like inflections in a conversation".Londre, p.498; Milhou 1991, p.175-217
The Théâtre des Arts went on to present nearly twenty plays, including Jacques Copeau's adaptation of The Brothers Karamazov (1911), and the stage production of La Tragédie de Salomé (1912), both a popular and critical success.Garafola, p.154; Taylor, p.88 Dethomas' reputation as a set and costume designer was such that by early 1912, he was commissioned by the British aristocracy to design a set and costumes for a London masked ball with some two thousand guests.Howard, p.92
Hired to direct and decorate at the Paris Opera in 1914, Rouché and Dethomas went on to offer fresh interpretation of old material and to make inroads into stale scenic convention.Londre, p.498 By 1917, Dethomas was also designing sets and costumes for the Comédie Française; the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt in 1919; the Théâtre Femina and Le Trianon in 1920; and the Opéra-Comique in 1926 as it celebrated Manuel de Falla's 50th birthday. With a program consisting of La Vida Breve, El Amor Brujo, and Master Peter's Puppet Show, Falla's close friend Ignacio Zuloaga and Dethomas collaborated to create sets and marionettes.Agen, p.150,180; Carson, p.79; Milhou 1991