Rajon, Paul Adolphe (1842/3-1888)

Displayed on our website as either current or past stock ‘After the Masquerade’

Rajon was born in Dijon France. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts under Isidore Alexandre Augustin Pils and during this period maintained himself by working as a photographer. He had previously helped his brother with his photography business. He first showed his work as an artist at the Salon in 1865. In Paris he counted amongst his friend and aquaintances Emile Boiluin, Philippe Burty, Felix Bracquemond and Louis-Charles-Auguste Steinheil. Rajon studied the technique of etching with Leon Gaucherel and with Leopold Flameng and this became his favoured medium. As with the case of the etching currently showing on this website ‘After the Masquerade’  Rajon showed great expertise, as well as gaining financial success, in the reproduction in etching form of popular paintings. These were published in journals such as ‘Gazette des Beaux-Arts’, ‘L’Art’ and Lodon’s ‘The Studio’ and by the Goupil Galleries. He was also a portaitist, making etchings and lithographs of contemporary figures from the arts and literature such as Tennyson, Turgenev and Theophile Gautier.

Rajon found a productive niche for himself in Britain where, from 1873, he came to spend six months of each year exhibiting at The Royal Academy, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool and the Manchester City Art Gallery.
Rajon was awarded medals at the Salons of 1869, 70, 73, and at the Exposition Universelle of 1878.