A Belgian painter settled in Paris from 1844, a pupil of Camille Roqueplan, he found his subject in the elegant woman at home, the fabrics, the filtered light. A friend of Manet, Courbet and Degas, a medallist at the Exposition Universelle of 1867, he made his fortune without leaving the camp of the moderns.
The story
Born in Brussels on 11 May 1823 into a family of art — his brother Joseph was an animal painter, his brother Arthur a journalist and dealer — Alfred Stevens trained under Camille Roqueplan.
He settled in Paris in 1844 and found his subject there: the elegant woman in her own rooms, the fabrics, the screens, the filtered light. The japonisme then sweeping Paris, the craze for Japanese art, entered his canvases before most others.
He was a friend of Manet, Courbet and Degas — in the camp of the moderns, without ever giving up the polished finish that sold his canvases to the middle classes of the Second Empire.
A medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1867, Officer of the Légion d'honneur in the same year: the career was made, and the fortune with it.
He died in Paris on 24 August 1906 and rests in Division 32, on Chemin de La Bédoyère, third row, beneath a plain stone that says “artiste peintre” — painter — and nothing more.
The grave
A simple grave, whose inscription fits on one line: “Alfred STEVENS, artiste peintre, 1823-1906, et sa famille” — painter, and his family. Nothing of the Belgium where he was born, nothing of the medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1867, nothing of the fortune he made painting Parisian interiors. “And his family”: the most fashionable painter of his day rests beneath a notary's formula.
On site, do not miss
A stone that states only a profession: “Alfred STEVENS, artiste peintre, 1823-1906, et sa famille” — painter, and his family. No Belgium, no medal of 1867, no friendships with Manet and Degas.
Visitors' questions
Where is Alfred Stevens's grave?
In Division 32, chemin de La Bédoyère, third row, beneath a plain stone: “Alfred STEVENS, artiste peintre, 1823-1906, et sa famille” — painter, and his family. The Division is also home to the painter Louis Hersent and the historian Fernand Braudel.
Louis HersentWhat did Alfred Stevens paint?
Elegant women in their interiors: fabrics, screens, filtered light. The Japonisme then sweeping Paris found its way into his pictures before it reached most others, and the Second Empire bourgeoisie paid dearly for them.
Honoré DaumierWho trained Alfred Stevens?
Camille Roqueplan, in Brussels and then in Paris — not Ingres, as was sometimes claimed. He arrived in Paris in 1844 and within twenty years became one of the most sought-after — and most expensive — painters of Second Empire society.
Edmond du Sommerard, Division 41Who were Alfred Stevens's friends?
Manet, Courbet and Degas: he belonged to the modern camp while keeping a highly polished technique that guaranteed his sales. His family was artistic too — his brother Joseph painted animals, his brother Arthur wrote and dealt in pictures.
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