Jean Francois Raffaelli, Painter, sculptor and etcher, was born in Paris in 1850. In 1871 he enrolled in L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts to study sculpture. Around 1876 he turned his attention to the Paris suburbs to sketch the people and street scenes of the city. Degas invited him to exhibit at the Impressionists exhibition where his painting “The Absinthe Drinkers” won broad favourable criticism. He was and remained an avid etcher throughout his life and, around 1890, discovered colour etching which became the main focus of his later years. He exhibited throughout
Europe and the U.S.A. where he toured New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia for one-man exhibition shows of his paintings and etchings. His work is to be found in public and private collections the world over.