LOUIS DUMOULIN DU CÔTÉ DE L’ASIE
Louis Dumoulin did not imagine the world; he explored it. An official painter to the French Navy, he was also the founder of the Société coloniale des artistes français in 1908, an organization which, through its grant system, enabled many artists to travel and discover distant lands. From 1888— the year of his first long-distance journey— until 1897, Dumoulin undertook several official missions to Asia. He stayed in Japan on three occasions and also visited parts of China and French Indochina.
While he produced studies on site, Dumoulin also made use of a new medium highly prized by travellers of the time: photography. His substantial collection of photographs, taken or acquired during his travels, was bequeathed to the Ministry of Colonies and is now housed at the Faculty of Letters Library of Université Côte d’Azur. It was on the basis of this material that, upon his return, he painted larger and more fully realized works.
This is evidenced by Japan, Traditional Scene with Kites – Children’s Day, May 5, a painting that has retained all of its chromatic vitality, as well as Commercial Street in China, a panel (65.5 × 48 cm) offered with an estimate of €1,800–2,000.
Louis Dumoulin (1860–1924)
Japan, Traditional Scene with Kites – Children’s Day, May 5
Oil on canvas, 82 × 65.5 cm
Estimate: €2,000–3,000
Gazette Drouot No. 5, February 6, 2026