Eugene Bidau

French painter Eugene Bidau (1839 - 1899) studied under Baptiste-Joseph Lechat and the portrait and genre artist Léon-Désiré Alexandre (1817-86). Bidau then made his own debut at the Salon in 1863 and continued to exhibit there for many years. Such was his repute that he won numerous awards, especially in the provinces, including Montpellier (1868), Amiens (1870), a second class medal in Angers (1877), Nice (1890), and a gold medal in Angers in 1895. Also known for his talent as a decorator, Eugène Bidau participated in the decoration of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. In addition he executed three decorative panels for the Palais de Justice in Rennes (1897), which were subsequently woven as tapestries by the Gobelins Factory specifically for the Exposition Universelle of 1900.