thumb|255px|The grave of Thomas Couture, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
Thomas Couture (; 21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, John Ward Dunsmore, Karel Javůrek, William Morris Hunt, and Joseph-Noël Sylvestre.
Life
Early life and education
Couture was born at Senlis, Oise, France. As a child, he sold a sketch for one hundred francs.thumb|150px|Photographic portrait, by [[Étienne Carjat, ca.1860|left]]
When he was 11 his family moved to Paris, where he would study at the industrial arts school (École des Arts et Métiers) and later at the École des Beaux-Arts.
He was a student of Baron Antoine Jean-Gros.