Maximilien Luce

París, 1858

Maximilien Luce (13 March 1858 – 6 February 1941) was a prolific French Neo-impressionist artist, known for his paintings, illustrations, engravings, and graphic art, and also for his anarchist activism. Starting as an engraver, he then concentrated on painting, first as an Impressionist, then as a Pointillist, and finally returning to Impressionism.

In 1872, Luce became an apprentice with wood-engraver Henri-Théophile Hildebrand (1824–1897). During his three-year xylography apprenticeship, he also took night classes in drawing from instructors Truffet and Jules-Ernest Paris (1827–1895). During this period, Luce started painting in oils. His art education continued as he attended drawing classes taught by Diogène Maillard (1840–1926) at the Gobelins factory.

Luce began working in the studio of Eugène Froment (1844–1900) in 1876, producing woodcut prints for various publications. He took additional art courses, at l’Académie Suisse, and also in the studio of portrait painter Carolus-Duran (1837–1917).

The prevalence of the new zincography printing process rendered xylography nearly obsolete as a profession. When the opportunities for employment as an engraver became scarce, Luce shifted his focus to painting full-time in about 1883. Gausson and Cavallo-Péduzzi introduced...