Édouard Leon Cortès (1882–1969) was a French post-impressionist artist of French and Spanish ancestry. He is known as "Le Poete Parisien de la Peinture" or "the Parisian Poet of Painting" because of his diverse Paris cityscapes in a variety of weather and night settings.
Edouard was the son of Antonio Cortès – the Spanish Court painter – who was himself the son of the artisan André Cortès. Antonio was born in Seville in 1827 and established himself as a painter of rural genre. In 1855 he traveled to Paris for the Exposition Universelle and was drawn to the town of Lagny-sur-Marne – where he settled. He continued to paint scenes reminiscent of Troyon, Jacque and Van Marcke. Antonio had three children - Édouard, Henri and Jeanne - and while all had artistic talent, it was Édouard who had the passion.
Edouard married Fernande Joyeuse in 1914 and had a child – Jacqueline Simone in 1916. Fernande died in 1918 and shortly thereafter Édouard decided to marry his sister-in-law Lucienne Joyeuse. They settled in Paris and Edouard continued to paint views of Paris. By the mid 1920’s, Edouard and his family moved back to Lagny (in Normandy) and he began painting scenes of country life - including landscapes, interior scenes and still lives. He was an active member of the Union des Beaux-Arts de Lagny and was the Unions first president. Their inaugural exhibition was held in 1927 and Cortès continued to exhibit there until the late 1930’s.
During this period he received many awards, gained great notoriety and was a frequent exhibitor at the exhibition halls in Paris, including the Salon d’Automne, Salon d’Hiver, Salon de la Société Nationale de l’Horticulture and Salon des Indépendants.
During the years of World War II, Cortès and his family spent their time in Cormelles-le-Royal (in Normandy) in an attempt to remove themselves from the harsh realities of war. By the early 1950’s he had relocated to Lagny, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
His beautiful depictions of Paris were always in demand and he continued to paint them until his death in 1969.