Adrien Dauzats, French painter

Adrien Dauzats was born in Bordeaux. He was a painter, illustrator, and writer. His early training was as a theatrical scene painter, and designer of lithographs. He first worked in Bordeaux under Pierre Lacour. He later became an assistant to the scene painter Thomas Olivier, who was the Chief Decorator at the Grand Theatre in Bordeaux. He moved to Paris, and joined the studio of Julien Michel Gue, the historical and landscape painter. Julien Gue recommended him to the decorators of the Theatre Italien, as well as Mattis, Desroches and Blanchard. The travelling party arrived in Cairo, and spent several weeks there, before setting off to cross the Sinai desert. After three weeks they reached the monastery of St Catherine. The party spent a number of days there, sketching, and getting used to their surroundings. Dauzats described his time there as, “the most perfectly spent and happiest of my life.” Adrien Dauzats died in Paris in 1868.