Couture, Thomas, 1815-79, French academic painter. He was a pupil of Gros and Delaroche. He achieved fame with his vast orgy painting, Romans in the Decadence of the Empire (1847; Louvre). Acquiring a great reputation as a teacher, he wrote two treatises on painting. Puvis de Chavannes, Manet, and Fantin-Latour worked in his studio at various times.