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	Couture, Thomas (b Senlis, 21 Dec 1815; d Villiers-le-Bel, 3 March 1879). French painter and teacher. A student of Antoine-Jean Gros in 1830–38 and Paul Delaroche in 1838–9, he demonstrated precocious ability in drawing and was expected to win the Prix de Rome. He tried at least six times between 1834 and 1839, but achieved only second prize in 1837 (entry untraced). Disgusted with the politics of the academic system, Couture withdrew and took an independent path. He later attacked the stultified curriculum of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and discouraged his own students from entering this institution. He first attained public notoriety at the Paris Salon with Young Venetians after an Orgy (1840; Montrouge, priv. col., see Boime, p. 85), the Prodigal Son (1841; Le Havre, Mus. B.-A.) and the Love of Gold (1844; Toulouse, Mus. Augustins). These early canvases are treated in a moralizing and anecdotal mode; the forms and compositional structures, like the debauched and corrupt protagonists, are sluggish and dull. Yet what made his work seem fresh to the Salon audience was his use of bright colour and surface texture derived from such painters as Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps and Eugène Delacroix, while his literary bent and methodical drawing demonstrated his mastery of academic tradition. The critics Théophile Gautier and Paul Mantz (1821–95) proclaimed him as the leader of a new school that mediated between the old and the new, and looked to him for a revitalization of Salon painting. The air of compromise his works projected made him appear a cultural representative of the juste milieu policies of Louis-Philippe.
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	Couture, Thomas Art education, §3: The growth of art schools, 18th and 19th centuries France, §III, 5(iii): Painting & graphic arts, c 1814–c 1914: Influence of the studios France, §III, 5(iv): Painting & graphic arts, c 1814–c 1914: Realism and modern life France, §XII, 5: Patronage: 19th and 20th centuries France, §XV, 6: Art education: The Ecole des Beaux-Arts and teaching studios in the 19th century Ireland, §III, 3: Painting and graphic arts, 1800–1900 Lewis (i) assistants Malmström, Johan August dealers Deforge, Armand-Auguste Durand-Ruel: (2) Paul Durand-Ruel groups and movements Neo-classicism, §5: The late phase Rococo Revival Romanticism, §3(ii): Manifestations in art: Painting Second Empire style patrons and collectors Bruyas, Alfred Vanderbilt, William Henry pupils Bachelin, (Rodolphe-)Auguste Bachelin, Auguste Cassatt, Mary (Stevenson) Cassatt, Mary, §1: Life and work Colin, Gustave Colin, Gustave Desboutin, Marcellin(-Gilbert) Desboutin, Marcellin Dubois, Louis (Jean-Baptiste) (1830-80) Dubois, Louis Dutuit, (Philippe-)Auguste(-Jean-Baptiste) Dutuit Ehninger, John W(hetten) Ehninger, John W. Frølich, Lorenz Frølich, Lorenz Hamman, Edouard(-Jean-Conrad) Hamman, Edouard Hicks, Thomas Hicks: (2) Thomas Hicks Hone, Nathaniel (ii) (1831-1917) Hone: (3) Nathaniel Hone (ii) Hunt, William Morris Hunt: (1) William Morris Hunt Isaachsen, Olaf Isaachsen, Olaf Norway, §III, 3: Painting and graphic arts, after 1814 Jernberg, August Jernberg, August Johnson, (Jonathan) Eastman Johnson, Eastman La Farge, John La Farge, John Manet, Edouard Impressionism, §2: Chronology Manet, Edouard, §1(i): Life and work, 1832–59 Newman, Robert Loftin Newman, Robert Loftin Nordenberg, Bengt Nordenberg, Bengt Oller (y Cestero), Francisco Oller, Francisco Piette, Ludovic Piette, Ludovic Pinkas, (Hippolyt) Sobeslav Pinkas, Sobeslav Purkyne, Karel Purkyne, Karel Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre(-Cécile) Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre, §1(i): Training and early work, 1824–60 Sickert, Walter Richard Sickert, Walter Richard, §1(i): Life and painted work, before 1898 Wells, Joanna Mary Wells, Joanna Mary teachers Delaroche: (2) Paul Delaroche Gros, Antoine-Jean, §4: Influence works Decadence and decline, §3: Cultural decadence in the 19th century Desfossé & Karth Finland, §III, 2: Painting and graphic arts, after c 1840 History painting, §II, 3: Later 19th century writings Chiaroscuro Treatise, §II, 5: Painting: 19th and 20th centuries

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