Pharaon de Winter

Pharaon-Abdon-Léon de Winter (17 November 1849, Bailleul - 22 June 1924, Lille) was a French painter; primarily of genre scenes.

He was the third of twelve children born to the family of a clog-maker, who gave them all literary names, such as Zénon, Odon, Ursmar, and Clovis.

There, he attracted the attention of a professional artist named Henri-Julien de Stoop (1827-1864) and began learning art in earnest.

Upon returning to France, in 1869, he enrolled at the École des beaux-arts de Lille [fr] and improved his skills, studying with Alphonse Colas.

During this work, he became especially attracted to a model named Julia Marie Fagoo, the daughter of a farmer; painting a series of small genre scenes with her.

Then, in 1918, he learned that a German assault had destroyed Bailleul, including his parents' home and his original workshop, which he had been planning to turn into a small museum.

[1] The city of Lille also gave his name to a lane that connects two major streets near the Ècole's former location at the Place du Concert [de].