Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Early Life, Family and Training Alphonse Colas was born on September 25, 1818, in Lille, France, into a family of significant size. He was the fifth of seven children born to Jean-Joseph Colas and Adélaïde Thérèse née Leprêts. His father served as a tax official in Verlinghem, providing a structured household for the growing family. This upbringing in the northern French region provided the foundation for a life dedicated to the visual
arts. His formal education in painting began in 1834 when he enrolled at the École des beaux-arts de Lille. It was here that his early inclinations toward the craft were first nurtured within an academic setting. By 1838, his development took a more specialized turn when he became a student of François Souchon. Under this guidance, Colas began to refine the technical skills that would eventually lead him toward the religious and port…