(1921 - 1977)
Born in Bordeaux, France, Philippe Jullian (née Philippe Simounet and also known by the pseudonym Jullian Philip) was a prolific artist, writer and illustrator of books. He was the grandson of the historian Camille Jullian (1859–1933) and son of André Simounet, a military officer. From the age of eight, the young Philippe decided to take his maternal family surname of Jullian. He began studies at the Sorbonne as a young man, however left before graduating. Perhaps because he had been born into a family of wealth and status, Jullian was suitably placed to acutely observe his social milieu with a sharp satirical eye.
In 1958 his first published book appeared, Dictionnaire due snobisme (soon followed by the English translation, Snob Spotter’s Guide). After writing his first art book, a biography of Delacroix in 1963, Jullian went on to write several biographies of writers, including Oscar Wilde and Robert de Montesquiou.
One of Jullian’s most prolific books was his 1969 appraisal of Symbolism, Esthètes et magiciens: l’art fin de siècle, which was later translated into English in 1971. Widely acclaimed, this book examined the impact of Symbolism across all art forms, including literature and music. Jullian also collaborated with Edward Lucie-Smith and John Milner on French Symbolist Painters, a major exhibition held at the Hayward Gallery in 1972. His next major publication was Les Symbolistes, published in 1973.
Described by The Dictionary of Art Historians as ‘politically conservative and a Protestant, Jullian was always somewhat of an outsider of his native France.’ He died in 1977, after committing suicide at his Paris home.
