Blanche, Jacques-Émile

Blanche, Jacques-Émile (1861–1942). French painter, born in Paris, the son of Émile Blanche, a noted pathologist. He grew up in a cultured atmosphere and became a well-known figure in artistic and society circles—he was a friend of Degas, Renoir, Whistler, the writers Henry James and Marcel Proust, and many other celebrities. His best-known works are stylish portraits of people from this milieu; the finest collection is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts at Rouen, and there are several examples in the Tate Gallery, London. Blanche lived mainly at Offranville, near the Channel port of Dieppe (the local church has decorative painting by him), and he was a frequent visitor to Britain, painting numerous views of London (the Tate has an example). He wrote several books of criticism and reminiscence, including Mes Modèles (1928), Portraits of a Lifetime … 1870–1914 (1937) and More Portraits of a Lifetime … 1918–38 (1939).