Léon Augustin Lhermitte French, 1844-1925

Léon Augustin Lhermitte (French pronunciation: [leɔ̃ oɡystɛ̃ lɛʁmit]; 31 July 1844 – 28 July 1925) was a French naturalist painter and etcher whose primary subject matter was rural scenes depicting peasants at work.

Lhermitte’s innovative use of pastels won him the admiration of his contemporaries. Vincent van Gogh wrote that "If every month Le Monde Illustré published one of his compositions ... it would be a great pleasure for me to be able to follow it. It is certain that for years I have not seen anything as beautiful as this scene by Lhermitte... I am too preoccupied by Lhermitte this evening to be able to talk of other things."[1][2] Van Gogh, in a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh, wrote also: “When I think of Millet or Lhermitte, I find modern art as powerful as the work of Michelangelo or Rembrandt."

Lhermitte was named rosati of honor in 1902 and was promoted to commander of the Legion of Honour in 1910. He died on 28 July 1925 in Paris.

Lhermitte is represented in the permanent collections of museums around the world, including in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Dahesh Museum of Art, the Towneley Hall Art Gallery & Museum, the Glasgow Museums Resource Center, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Manchester Art Gallery, the Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Kemper Art Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the British Museum, the McCord Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Smart Museum of Art, the Chimei Museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the Van Gogh Museum.