Edouard Cortes - Paris: Part I
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Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine Boulevard de la Madeleine, 1910Edouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine, 1910 Bouquinistes, Notre DameEdouard Léon CortèsBouquinistes, Notre Dame
Caen, rue Saint Jean animéeEdouard Léon CortèsCaen, rue Saint Jean animée Café de la PaixEdouard Léon CortèsCafé de la Paix La Porte St. Denis en HiverEdouard Léon CortèsLa Porte St. Denis en Hiver
Le Louvre et la rue de Rivoli au crepusculeEdouard Léon CortèsLe Louvre et la rue de Rivoli au crepuscule Les Grands BoulevardsEdouard Léon CortèsLes Grands Boulevards Marche aux Fleurs de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsMarche aux Fleurs de la Madeleine
Marche aux fleurs, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsMarche aux fleurs, Madeleine Marche de la Madeleine au printempsEdouard Léon CortèsMarche de la Madeleine au printemps Notre Dame, ParisEdouard Léon CortèsNotre Dame, Paris
Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique Place du ChateletEdouard Léon CortèsPlace du Chatelet
Place du Chatelet in WinterEdouard Léon CortèsPlace du Chatelet in Winter Place du Tertre, MontmartreEdouard Léon CortèsPlace du Tertre, Montmartre Porte St. Denis, HiverEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis, Hiver
Porte St. Denis, ParisEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis, Paris Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique Quai du LouvreEdouard Léon CortèsQuai du Louvre
Le marché aux fleurs, Place de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsLe marché aux fleurs, Place de la Madeleine La Tour St. JacquesEdouard Léon CortèsLa Tour St. Jacques Porte St. Denis in WinterEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis in Winter
Aux Trois QuartiersEdouard Léon CortèsAux Trois Quartiers LEdouard Léon CortèsL'Arc de Triomphe Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine
Métro George V, Champs ÉlyséesEdouard Léon CortèsMétro George V, Champs Élysées Avenue de l’OpéraEdouard Léon CortèsAvenue de l’Opéra Arc de TriompheEdouard Léon CortèsArc de Triomphe
Boulevard des CapucinesEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard des Capucines Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine Porte St. DenisEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis
Rue de Lyon, BastilleEdouard Léon CortèsRue de Lyon, Bastille Rue Royale, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsRue Royale, Madeleine Place de la BastilleEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Bastille
Place de la BastilleEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Bastille Pont Alexandre IIIEdouard Léon CortèsPont Alexandre III Rue Soufflot, PantheonEdouard Léon CortèsRue Soufflot, Pantheon
Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique Bouquinistes de Notre-DameEdouard Léon CortèsBouquinistes de Notre-Dame Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique
Place de l’OpéraEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de l’Opéra Le Café Balthazard, Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsLe Café Balthazard, Place de la Republique Les BouquinistesEdouard Léon CortèsLes Bouquinistes
Quai du LouvreEdouard Léon CortèsQuai du Louvre Quai Saint MichelEdouard Léon CortèsQuai Saint Michel Marche des fleurs a la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsMarche des fleurs a la Madeleine
Marche aux fleurs, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsMarche aux fleurs, Madeleine Fountain on Place de la ConcordeEdouard Léon CortèsFountain on Place de la Concorde Place de la ConcordeEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Concorde
Place de la Madeleine in WinterEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Madeleine in Winter Champs Elysees, LidoEdouard Léon CortèsChamps Elysees, Lido Champs Élysées, LidoEdouard Léon CortèsChamps Élysées, Lido
Place de la BastilleEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Bastille Porte St. Denis in the WinterEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis in the Winter Porte St. MartinEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Martin
Tuileries GardenEdouard Léon CortèsTuileries Garden Place du Tertre, MontmartreEdouard Léon CortèsPlace du Tertre, Montmartre Boulevard des CapucinesEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard des Capucines
Place de la RepubliqueEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Republique Porte St. Denis, 1905Edouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis, 1905 Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine
Place de lEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de l'Opera Porte St. DenisEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis Quai du Louvre in WinterEdouard Léon CortèsQuai du Louvre in Winter
Champs Elysees, WinterEdouard Léon CortèsChamps Elysees, Winter Boulevard des CapucinesEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard des Capucines Flower Market, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsFlower Market, Madeleine
Place St. Michel - Notre DameEdouard Léon CortèsPlace St. Michel - Notre Dame LEdouard Léon CortèsL'Opera and the Cafe de la Paix Pont Alexandre IIIEdouard Léon CortèsPont Alexandre III
La Madeleine au Crépuscule vue du BoulevardEdouard Léon CortèsLa Madeleine au Crépuscule vue du Boulevard Place Vendôme, Soir, ParisEdouard Léon CortèsPlace Vendôme, Soir, Paris Rue de la Paix, Place VendômeEdouard Léon CortèsRue de la Paix, Place Vendôme
L’Arc de Triomphe, ParisEdouard Léon CortèsL’Arc de Triomphe, Paris Rue Royale, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsRue Royale, Madeleine Place St. Michel, Notre DameEdouard Léon CortèsPlace St. Michel, Notre Dame
Jardin du LuxembourgEdouard Léon CortèsJardin du Luxembourg Fountain on Place de la ConcordeEdouard Léon CortèsFountain on Place de la Concorde Quai du Louvre, sous la neigeEdouard Léon CortèsQuai du Louvre, sous la neige
Place de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Madeleine Le Quai de la Tournelle, Notre DameEdouard Léon CortèsLe Quai de la Tournelle, Notre Dame Place de lEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de l'Etoile, Arc de Triomphe
Rue Royale, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsRue Royale, Madeleine Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine Boulevard de la MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard de la Madeleine
Flower Market, MadeleineEdouard Léon CortèsFlower Market, Madeleine Café de la Paix, OperaEdouard Léon CortèsCafé de la Paix, Opera Porte St. DenisEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis
Place de la Opera, Cafe de la PaixEdouard Léon CortèsPlace de la Opera, Cafe de la Paix Porte St. Denis, WinterEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Denis, Winter Boulevard et Porte St. MartinEdouard Léon CortèsBoulevard et Porte St. Martin
Porte St. MartinEdouard Léon CortèsPorte St. Martin    


Edouard Cortes was born in Lagny, France on April 26, 1882.  During his early lifetime, Paris was the center of the art world.  Artist from across the globe traveled there to study and paint it’s beautiful countryside and cities; views of Paris, or as it became known ‘the City of Lights’, were in great demand by both collectors and tourists. Édouard Cortès, along with other artists like: Eugene Galien-Laloue (1854-1941), Luigi Loir (1845-1916) and Jean Beraud (1849-1936) answered their call.  Specializing in Paris street scenes, each of these artists captured the city during its heyday and continued with these scenes well into the 20th century.

Edouard was the son of Antonio Cortès – the Spanish Court painter – who was himself the son of the artisan André Cortès.  Antonio was born in Seville in 1827 and established himself as a painter of rural genre.  In 1855 he traveled to Paris for the Exposition Universelle and was drawn to the town of Lagny-sur-Marne – where he settled.  He continued to paint scenes reminiscent of Troyon, Jacque and Van Marcke.  Antonio had three children - Edouard, Henri and Jeanne - and while all had artistic talent, it was Édouard who had the passion.

Antonio began teaching Édouard at an early age and enrolled him in a private elementary school where he continued his schooling until the age of 13.   From this point on he devoted his life to art – working and studying with both his father and older brother.    In 1899, at the age of 16, he exhibited his first work at the Société des Artistes Français entitled La Labour.  The work was well received by the critics and the public - helping establish Edouard’s favorable reputation in Paris.

It was at the turn of the century, c.1900, that he began to paint the scenes that he would become most famous for – Paris’ streets and monuments.  One of the more prolific artists of his time, Cortès found his niche and stayed with it.  His views of Paris are among the most telling and beautiful images of this genre; capturing the city during all it’s seasons for more than 60 years.

Edouard married Fernande Joyeuse in 1914 and had a child – Jacqueline Simone in 1916.  Fernande died in 1918 and shortly thereafter Édouard decided to marry his sister-in-law Lucienne Joyeuse.  They settled in Paris and Edouard continued to paint views of Paris.  By the mid 1920’s, Edouard and his family moved back to Lagny (in Normandy) and he began painting scenes of country life - including landscapes, interior scenes and still lives.  He was an active member of the Union des Beaux-Arts de Lagny and was the Unions first president.   Their inaugural exhibition was held in 1927 and Cortès continued to exhibit there until the late 1930’s.

During this period he received many awards, gained great notoriety and was a frequent exhibitor at the exhibition halls in Paris, including the Salon d’Automne, Salon d’Hiver, Salon de la Société Nationale de l’Horticulture and Salon des Indépendants.

During the years of World War II, Cortès and his family spent their time in Cormelles-le-Royal (in Normandy) in an attempt to remove themselves from the harsh realities of war. By the early 1950’s he had relocated to Lagny, where he would remain for the rest of his life. 

His beautiful depictions of Paris were always in demand and he continued to paint them until his death in 1969.

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