J. André Castaigne

Jean Alexandre Michel André Castaigne (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ alɛksɑ̃dʁ miʃɛl ɑ̃dʁe kastɛɲ]; 7 January 1861, in Angoulême, Charente – 1929, in Angoulême) was a French artist and engraver, a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Alexandre Cabanel. Subsequently he became a leading illustrator in the United States. He is often recalled as the original illustrator of the first edition of The Phantom of the Opera.

Castaigne also created more than 36 art pieces about Alexander the Great for an 1898–99 series. As an illustrator, he captured images of the first modern olympics; he drew pictures of the 1896 Olympic Games for Scribner's Magazine.

Biography

André Castaigne was the son of Jean Eusèbe Joseph Castaigne (1828–1902), himself a painter, and Mathilde Debouchaud. His brother Joseph Jean Destrains Castaigne (1859–1923) was a poet. In 1878, he began his studies at what was then the Académie Suisse. After a few months he transferred to the Académie des Beaux-Arts where his two mentors taught. He was in Cabanel's studio for a year before moving to Gérôme's studio where he won first place in the General Competition three times–for nude figure painting, composition, and general excellence. His work was selected for the Prix de Rome on three occasions and, although he never won, it was a compliment as only ten paintings were selected for the competition.

Early career

He had his first exhibition in Paris in 1884, from whence his painting Dante et Béatrice went on tour to New Orleans where it received a great deal of attention. In 1887 he exhibited the huge painting, five yards by four, The Deluge, which later was placed in the municipal gallery of his native city Angoulême. In 1888, he painted a portrait of the Vicomte de Dampierre in his hunting jacket and in 1889 he created a painting titled After the Combat, which later was acquired by the Peabody Gallery in Baltimore.