French painter, printmaker and stage designer, Louis Valtat was born in 1869 in Dieppe. Much of his youth was spent in Versailles and in 1887 he moved to Paris, where he studied under Gustave Moreau at the Ecole des Beaux- Arts. He also studied under Jules Dupré at the Académie Julian where he met Edouard Vuillard, Albert André, Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis.
Valtat collaborated with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and André on the set of “Charoit de terre cuite”, performed at the Théâtre de l’Oeuvre in Paris. With the help of Albert André and Toulouse-Lautrec, Valtat was able to exhibit his paintings and engravings at the Salon des Cent. Influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec, Valtat’s works took on a darkened color and sentiment, but by 1896 he began painting in a sunnier, more optimistic air. He was also influenced by van Gogh and by the bold colors of Fauvism. Valtat was made chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur in 1927 and six of his paintings were shown at the 1951 exhibition on Fauvism at the Modern Art Museum in Paris. After 1940, he began having trouble with his eyes due to glaucoma.