Théodore Girardet

Théodore-Octave Girardet was a French illustrator and wood-engraver.

Life and work

He came from a Swiss Huguenot family. His father, Paul Girardet, was a copper engraver. His brothers, Jules, Eugène, Paul Armand and Léon, as well as his sister, Julia Antonine, also became painters or engravers.
He studied painting at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris with Alexandre Cabanel. He eventually decided to specialize in wood-engraving and worked in the studios of. He also took some lessons from.
He remained in Paris, where he specialized in wood-engravings which were used as illustrations for newspapers and magazines, such as Le Monde illustré, L'Illustration and Le Tour du Monde; often based on designs by his brother-in-law, Eugène Burnand, or other family members. He was also active in the advertising industry, which was very lucrative, and exhibited at his work the Paris Salon.