GEOFFROY, Henry-Jules-Jean

French painter. In 1853, he became a pupil of Adam Levasseur at the age of 18. After being accepted into the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, Geoffroy studied with Léon Bonnat.

Geoffroy gained popular acclaim as an artist during his lifetime. His paintings were exhibited throughout Paris. Although he experimented with different mediums and painted various subjects, he tended to focus on children in his works. His talent for painting them made him much sought after by wealthy families to paint portraits of their children. Eventually, an editor inspired him to illustrate and write children's books.

The artist's achievements included debuting at the SalonGLOSSARYIn the French language of the 18th and 19th centuries it designated an actual exhibition space, as well as the academic art exhibitions staged in the Salon d'Apollon of the Louvre since 1667. From 1737, the exhibitions took place biennially and, after the French Revolution, annually in the Salon Carré of the Louvre in Paris. Towards the end of the 19th century the official Salon jury was dissolved in order to make way for a committee of state-approved artists, i.e. former Salon members, who created the highly influential Société des Artistes Français. de Paris in 1874 at the age of 21. At the Salon, he garnered several awards, including a silver medal in 1886. From 1880 he signed his works as GEO. At the Exhibition Universelle in 1900, he won a gold medal. In 1885, in recognition of his patriotism during the Franco-Prussian War, he was inducted into the Légion d'honneur.

Geoffroy died in Paris in 1924.