Born in Clermont-Ferrand on 8 July 1820, died in Paris (Passy) in 1874, Louis Devedeux is considered as one of the most important French 19th century orientalists. Studied art at the School of Fine Arts in Paris, student of Paul Delaroche and Alexandre Descamps. In 1838 he competed for the Prize of Rome and started his first exhibitions. In the years to come he exhibited in major European cities. Napoleon the 3rd also had a painting of him. Today, his paintings can be found in the d’Orsau Museum Paris, Senat Museum Paris, Clermont-Ferrand Fine Art Museum, New York Metropolitan Museum, Rasmussen Museum Copenhagen, The Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg , etc.
Louis Devedeux spent significant time in Ottoman Turkey, where he painted romantic scenes of the daily life. In that time, he visited Thessaloniki region, where he painted the capital work “Un poste de volontaires, pres de Salonique, Turguie”. The painting was sold by the auction house Gros-Delettrez, Paris (France), on December 3rd 1999 (lot number 141) for 16 000 euro.
