Musées de Langres – Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot – Musée d'Art et d'Histoire

Born into a modest Jewish family, in Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute-Saône), Adler was a realist painter and a follower of the “naturalism” movement. Mythological, historical and religious paintings were of little interest to him: his preferred subjects were workers, miners, diggers, housewives and peasants, pubs and railway scenes, or social movements and strikes. He was a painter of the people and his portrayals of ordinary, sometimes downtrodden members of society brimmed with humanity, as in the case of this country postman out on his round. His focus on social issues and the working classes earned him the sobriquet of “painter of humble folk”. Jules Adler’s art was part of a wider commitment to progressive political causes, for example in the Dreyfus Affair in 1899. From 1888, his works were regularly exhibited at the Paris Salons – notably the Salon d’automne from 1903 – as well as in provincial towns, including Langres.