
Georges d'Espagnat (1870–1950) was a French Post-Impressionist painter, muralist, illustrator, and theater designer. Born on August 14, 1870, in Melun, France, he moved to Paris in 1888 to pursue his artistic ambitions. Preferring autonomy over formal education, d'Espagnat briefly attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Colarossi but primarily taught himself, drawing inspiration from the works of Gustave-Claude-Étienne Courtois and Jean-André Rixens.
In 1891, he debuted at the Salon des Refusés and subsequently exhibited regularly at the Salon des Indépendants. D'Espagnat formed close associations with leading artists of his time, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross, Louis Valtat, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, and Édouard Vuillard. His oeuvre encompasses depictions of everyday Parisian life, female figures, landscapes, and still lifes, characterized by a painterly style with unique color treatments reminiscent of the Fauves.
Throughout his career, d'Espagnat undertook various significant projects. In 1906, he illustrated Remy de Gourmont's book "Sixtine." By 1914, he designed the set for Alfred de Musset’s play "Fantasio" at the Théâtre de Batignolles in Paris. After serving in a camouflage unit during World War I, he acquired a country house in the Quercy region in 1920, where he produced numerous landscapes and interior scenes over the next decade. The 1930s saw him illustrating Alphonse Daudet’s "L’Immortel" and executing decorative commissions, such as adorning the Mairie in Vincennes (1936), the Palais de Justice in Toulouse (1938), and the ceiling of the Salle Victor Hugo in the Palais du Luxembourg in Paris (1939). In 1935, d'Espagnat was elected vice president of the Salon d’Automne in Paris and served as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1936 to 1940. Despite the disruptions of World War II, he continued to paint until his death on April 17, 1950, in Paris. His works are housed in prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, reflecting his significant contributions to the Post-Impressionist movement.