Marie Élisabeth Jeanne de Latour-Simons, known as Marie de Latour (1750, Brussels - 1834, Brussels) was a Belgian painter and engraver.
Biography She came from a family of artists.P. E. Claessens et P. de Zuttere, "Famille d'artistes. Où se profilent des ombres oubliées. Les Simons, artistes bruxellois du XVIII siècle", in: L'Intermédiaire des généalogistes (1967). pgs.20-23 Her father, Jan Baptist Simons (1717-1783), was a well-known Flemish artist. She was a sister-in-law of the portrait painter Charles Le Clercq.Paul De Zuttere, " Charles Le Clercq, peintre bruxellois méconnu (1753-1821)" in: Études sur le XVIII siècle (1979), pgs.41-52) Her brother, Jean-Baptiste Simons, also became a painter.Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800, (2009) (Online) Around 1780, she married Philippe-François de Latour (1747-1822), about whom little is known.
She spent most of 1774 as a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp,Ma Pacco, "Delatour-Simons, Elisabeth-Marie", in: Dictionnaire des Peintres Belges (1999) and produced works in a variety of media; including pastels, gouaches, portrait miniatures and prints. Many were interior scenes. She gave some of her pastels to her brother when he went blind in 1786.
Eventually she specialized in engraving; inspired by the works of Nicolaes Berchem, Peter Paul Rubens and the Van de Velde family. In 1817, she received an award from the "Antwerp Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts". She also worked in Paris and Berlin, where she was presented with an appointment as court painter by King Frederick William III.Entry on Latour @ the British Museum In 1822, she exhibited three oil paintings at the Salon de Lille,Salons from 1673 to 1914 a division of the Musée d'Orsay.
Her son, Alexandre, also became a painter; specializing in portrait miniatures. She took students as well; one of the most notable being the Swedish artist, Johan Way.
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Brussels City Museum have preserved some of her works.
References
External links
Biographical data @ the Netherlands Institute for Art History Portrait of Philippe-François de Latour by Alexandre de Latour