Henry Moret (French pronunciation:[ɑ̃ʁimɔʁɛ]; 12 December 1856 – 5 May 1913) was a FrenchImpressionist painter. He was one of the artists who associated withPaul Gauguin atPont-Aven in Brittany. He is best known for his involvement in the Pont-Aven artist colony and his richly colored landscapes of coastal Brittany.[1][2]
Moret was born inCherbourg, but little is known of his life until he began his military service in 1875. Jules La Villette, his commander inLorient, who first noticed his artistic talents, introduced him to Ernest Corroller, a drawing teacher and marine painter. Corroller taught him the art of landscape painting as practiced by masters such asCorot andCourbet, enabling him to register at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris where in 1876 he studied underRudolf Lehmann,Jean-Léon Gérôme and later, from about 1880, under the history painterJean-Paul Laurens at theAcadémie Julian.[3][4]
Moret first exhibited at theParis Salon in 1880, presentingLa plage de Locqueltas à marée basse; côte de Bretagne. He maintained contacts with Corroller, often returning to Brittany. In 1888, he arrived inPont-Aven which had begun to attract a number of artists includingErnest de Chamaillard,Émile Jourdan, andCharles Laval, withPaul Gauguin playing the leading role. Moret was one of the first painters to move to nearbyle Pouldu which soon became the new centre of attraction for the Pont-Aven artists. His work began to show signs ofSymbolism, probably as a result of Gauguin's influence.[5]
After Gauguin left the area in 1891, Moret began to develop his own style. In 1895, he established a fruitful relationship withPaul Durand-Ruel who maintained a number of galleries in Paris, London and New York, with an emphasis onImpressionism. During their relationship, Moret completed over 600 paintings, many of which were exhibited in Paris and New York leading to a growing clientele for his work. Moret also exhibited seven of his Breton paintings at theSalon des Indépendants. After 1900, Moret became more immersed in Impressionism, applying small flecks of paint to his work rather than the broad strokes favoured by the Pont-Aven artists. Increasingly he focused on landscapes where his light effects can be seen in the sunsets and storm scenes he painted around 1909. In addition to his oils for Durand-Ruel, he also completed some 800 watercolours and drawings.[5] He died in Paris, aged 56.
After initially painting in a rather classical manner, Moret's style developed under the influence of Gauguin and the Pont-Aven artists. As time went by, his works became increasingly Impressionistic, while revealing his love of nature. InHenry Moret, aquarelles et peinture 1856–1913,Maxime Maufra comments: "Coasts, forests, valleys, in every season he observed them with all his senses, reproducing them with all his spirit and sincerity."[6] A catalogue to one of his posthumous exhibitions described how he "occupies a unique place in the evolution of art at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, as he has been able to fuse together two fundamentally opposing styles: the Syntheticism of Pont-Aven and Impressionism."[7]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
