Armand Guillaumin | |
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| Born | Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin (1841-02-16)16 February 1841 Paris, France |
| Died | 26 June 1927(1927-06-26) (aged 86) Orly,Val-de-Marne, France |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Impressionism |
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Armand Guillaumin (French:[aʁmɑ̃ɡijomɛ̃]; 16 February 1841 – 26 June 1927) was a FrenchImpressionistpainter andlithographer.
BornJean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin inParis, he worked at his uncle'slingerie shop while attending evening drawing lessons. He also worked for a French government railway before studying at theAcadémie Suisse in 1861. There, he metPaul Cézanne andCamille Pissarro, with whom he maintained lifelong friendships. While he never achieved the stature of these two, his influence on their work was significant. With these two friends, Guillaumin exhibited at theSalon des Refusés in 1863.The three artists frequently painted in each other's company in the 1870s; for a time, Guillaumin and Cézanne had studios next door to each other on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris. In 1873, Cézanne made the only etchings of his career, one of them depicting Guillaumin[1] (see Gallery below).
Guillaumin was a member of theSociété anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs (later dubbedImpressionistes) from the start and he participated in six of the eight Impressionist exhibitions: 1874, 1877, 1880, 1881, 1882 and 1886.[2] In the eyes of contemporary critics, he became known for his assured brushstroke and use of bold colours. In 1886, an astute critic,Félix Fénéon, called him a "furious colourist";[3] By the 1890s, his palette had grown even bolder, less faithful to nature. He was a Fauve a decade beforeFauvism.
In 1886, he became a friend ofVincent van Gogh, whose brother,Theo, exhibited and sold some of his works. Vincent held Guillaumin's work in high regard, commenting on it in at least 36 letters written from 1888 to 1890.[4] In the mid 1880s, Guillaumin's studio was a meeting place for young artists such asPaul Gauguin,Paul Signac andGeorges Seurat. Guillaumin was finally able to quit his government job and concentrate on painting full-time in 1891, when he won 100,000 francs in the state lottery.[2]
Armand Guillaumin was given large solo exhibitions at many of the top Parisian galleries, includingGaleries Durand-Ruel in 1895, GalerieAmbroise Vollard in 1897,Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in 1901 and 1906, and GaleriePaul Rosenberg in 1908. Noted for their intense colours, Guillaumin's paintings are represented in major museums around the world. These include theMusée d’Orsay (48 works) and Petit Palais (91 works) in Paris, theTate Britain in London, major museums in Germany, Russia, the Netherlands and Spain, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Art Institute of Chicago, and many others in the U.S.A,, Canada, Israel and Japan.[5] Private collectors, many of whom owned dozens of works, bought up his production through the 1920s. Noteworthy among these are Count Armand Doria, Dr. Paul Gachet, Théodore Duret,Gustave Geffroy,Louis Vauxcelles,Tadamasa Hayashi,Sergei Shchukin,Chester Dale andPaul Mellon.
Guillaumin is best remembered for hislandscapes of Paris, theCreuse département, and the area aroundLes Adrets-de-l'Estérel near theMediterranean coast in theProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France.Guillaumin was called the leader of theÉcole de Crozant, a diverse group of painters who came to depict the landscape in the region of the Creuse around the village ofCrozant. One of these depictions, titledLandscape in Crozant, is housed in the Art Institute of Chicago.[6] His bust is in the square near the village church in Crozant.[7]
Armand Guillaumin died in 1927 inOrly,Val-de-Marne just south of Paris.
