In our Portraits series :
Eugène Labiche (1815-1888) was a French playwright who wrote (and co-wrote) 176 plays, the most important of which belong to the ‘vaudeville’ genre.
A true satirist, Labiche was a keen observer of the Second Empire bourgeoisie, which he described as a narrow world dominated by the omnipotence of money.
Today, he remains one of the most frequently performed playwrights at the Comédie-Française. His best-known plays include Le Voyage de monsieur Perrichon, Occupe-toi d’Amélie, le Système Ribadier, Un chapeau de paille d’Italie.
Portrait drawn in 1880, when he was elected to the Académie Française.