Jean-Baptiste Madou

Jean-Baptiste Madou (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist madu]; 3 February 1796, Brussels – 31 March 1877, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode) was a Belgian painter and lithographer.

While draftsman to the topographical military division at Kortrijk, he received a commission for lithographic work from a Brussels publisher.

[1] It was not until about 1840 that Madou began to paint in oils, and the success of his early efforts in this medium resulted in a long series of pictures representing scenes of village and city life, including The Fiddler, The Jewel Merchant, The Police Court, The Drunkard, The Ill-regulated Household, and The Village Politicians.

Among his numerous works mention may also be made of The Feast at the Chateau (1851), The Unwelcome Guests (1852, Brussels Gallery), generally regarded as his masterpiece, The Rat Hunt (acquired by Leopold II, king of the Belgians), The Arquebusier (1860), and The Stirrup Cup.

At the age of sixty-eight he decorated a hall in his house with a series of large paintings representing scenes from La Fontaine's fables, and ten years later made for King Leopold a series of decorative paintings for the Château de Ciergnon.