Louis Guingot (3 January 1864–16 December 1948) was a French mural painter and founding member of theÉcole de Nancy (the Nancy School). He was the first Frenchcamoufleur in theFirst World War, credited as the inventor of military camouflage for the French army. In 1914, he created a prototype camouflaged battledress for the French army, which it rejected, only to take up the idea later forartillery guns.
Louis Guingot was born atRemiremont on 3 January 1864 in Lorraine.[1] He studied art at theBeaux-Arts de Paris in 1880 and at theÉcole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris. There he was noticed byPierre-Victor Galland, director of theManufacture des Gobelins, who included him in his team to participate in the decoration of thePanthéon in Paris and many buildings and castles in Central Europe until 1889. The director of theThéâtre des Variétés then made him its chief decorator for three years.[2]
He married Marie Lambert in 1892 before joining the circle of artists inNancy. He then spent time withÉmile Gallé, painter of theArt Nouveau movement and founder withLouis Majorelle of the Nancy school of painting in 1901. The painter had his villaLa Chaumière built by the architects Weissenburger of the Rue d'Auxonne in Nancy. His garden, with structures decorated by many artists of the school of Nancy, was visited bySisowath, King ofCambodia, and his delegation in July 1906.[2]
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Guingot's training as a painter led him to the mural decoration of public and religious buildings in his region, such as the theatres ofVerdun,Lunéville andBussang. He notably painted three frescoes in the church ofVaubexy in around 1900. He worked on the decoration of restaurants and castles such as the chateau of Manoncourt-sur-Seille (Château Colin) in Lorraine,[3] theVittel casino, the Charmes brasserie, the ceiling of the town hall ofÉpinal, and the jam factory inLiverdun.[4]
He was a member of the steering committee of the Nancy School from 1901. His work was selected for the portico of the Palais des Fêtes for the Nancy International Exhibition in 1909. Among his other functions, he was chief decorator of theThéâtre des Variétés in Montmartre. He worked as decorator of the Théâtre du Peuple in Bussang, being a close friend ofMaurice Pottecher and chief decorator of the Lunéville theatre.[5] He worked withRené Wiener [fr] on the creation of bindings. His son Henri Guingot (1897-1952) was curator of the Musée d'Épinal and co-founder of the Musée de l'Imagerie.[6]
Guingot was interested in new decorative processes for fabrics and hangings, which led him to seek amilitary camouflage unit during theFirst World War, alongside Jean-Baptiste Eugène Corbin. He and his son Henri started creating camouflage for the army in his studio in Nancy, in the autumn of 1914.[7] He then joined the army and worked in the special painters section specialized in the manufacture of this fabric. He was the inventor of France's first military camouflage,[8][9] as illustrated by the "leopard" outfit.[4] The original jacket was donated to the Lorrain Museum in Nancy in 1981 by Albert Conte, his last pupil from 1942 to 1945 inLay-Saint-Christophe,[10] which received it from the artist's widow in 1976.[11] He had sent the prototypelinen camouflage jacket to the French army and proposed his invention. It was returned to him with a (lost) letter expressing interest; a rectangle had been cut on the right side.[7] The army kept the sample, but never contacted the inventor again. However, his idea was taken up for the camouflage ofartillery guns. A camouflage unit such as he had suggested, employing several artists, was set up atDomgermain inMeurthe-et-Moselle, under the direction ofGuirand de Scévola.[2][12][13][14]
He is buried inBouxières-aux-Dames near Nancy in Lorraine. His former house has been converted to flats, but its original facade survives.