Jean Louis Forain (Born 1852) was born in Reims. He was an illustrator, printmaker and painter. He moved with his family to Paris Around 1860. Here, he was taught by André Gill, Jean Baptiste Carpeaux and Jacquesson de la Chevreuse. Louis Forain participated in the Franco-Prussian War and he became friends with the poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine; the former is the presumed subject of one of his portraits. That portrait may have influenced a portrait of Mallarmé done by Manet. He first met Manet in the early 1870s through his friendship with Degas with whom they used to exhibit at the salon of Nina de Callias. Louis Forain continued to associate with Manet, and through this he met a group of young Impressionists at the Café de la Nouvelle Athènes and the Café Guerbois.
In 1878, he painted a small Café Scene in gouache, which most probably influenced Manet’s Bar at the Shepherdess Follies (Folies-Bergère). During the World War 1, his illustrations honored his contemporaries for their patriotism; and he enlisted in the Camouflage section under Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola. The artist created many scenes of the Law Courts in his later years. He also created Parisian institutions plus social satire caricatures of French life on late 19th and early 20th century. Shortly before his death, in 1931, he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Arts that was based in London. Louis Forain was one of the best known and revered artists in France and beyond.
