Paris, France's capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. More on Paris
Claude Monet, (1840–1926)
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Paris, c. 1867
Oil on canvas
79 × 98 cm (31.1 × 38.6 in)
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
The Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is situated at 2 Place du Louvre, Paris. Founded in the 7th century, the church was rebuilt many times over several centuries. It now has construction in Roman, Gothic and Renaissance styles. The most striking exterior feature is the porch, with a rose window and a balustrade above which encircles the whole church, a work of Jean Gaussel (1435–39).
During the Wars of Religion, its bell called "Marie" sounded on the night of 23 August 1572, marking the beginning of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Thousands of Huguenots, who visited the city for a royal wedding, were killed by the mob of Paris. A splendid stained glass still remains, in spite of plunderings during the French Revolution. The north tower was added in 1860 and stands opposite the Mairie of the 1st Arrondissement (1859). More Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois
Oscar-Claude Monet (14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a founder of French Impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. The term "Impressionism" is derived from the title of his painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which was exhibited in 1874 in the first of the independent exhibitions mounted by Monet and his associates as an alternative to the Salon de Paris.
Monet's ambition of documenting the French countryside led him to adopt a method of painting the same scene many times in order to capture the changing of light and the passing of the seasons. From 1883 Monet lived in Giverny, where he purchased a house and property and began a vast landscaping project which included lily ponds that would become the subjects of his best-known works. In 1899 he began painting the water lilies, first in vertical views with a Japanese bridge as a central feature, and later in the series of large-scale paintings that was to occupy him continuously for the next 20 years of his life. More Oscar-Claude Monet
Honoré-Victorin Daumier, 1808 - 1879
Chanteurs de rue
Street Singer
Oil on wood
25.5 x 33.3 cm
Private collection
Street singer is an old small trade which consisted in singing popular songs in the street.
In the days when there were no LPs , jukeboxes , radio or television , popular songs were only spread through street singers.
With a strong voice that carried, or with the help of a megaphone , the street singer sang songs from the popular repertoire on the public highway. He was paid for his performance, or else by selling so-called “format” sheets which included the score and the lyrics of the songs sung 1 .
In general, the performers were at least two, one who sang and the other who sold the formats.
More on Street singer
Honoré-Victorin Daumier (February 26, 1808 – February
10, 1879) was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and
sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in
France in the 19th century.
Daumier
produced over 500 paintings, 4000 lithographs, 1000 wood engravings, 1000
drawings and 100 sculptures. A prolific draughtsman, he was perhaps best known
for his caricatures of political figures and satires on the behavior of his
countrymen, although posthumously the value of his painting has also been
recognized.
Daumier
was born in Marseille. His father Jean-Baptiste was a glazier whose literary
aspirations led him to move to Paris in 1814, seeking to be published as a
poet. In 1816 the young Daumier and his mother followed Jean-Baptiste to Paris.
Daumier showed in his youth an irresistible inclination towards the artistic
profession, which his father vainly tried to check by placing him first with a
huissier. In 1822 he became protégé to Alexandre Lenoir, a friend of Daumier's
father who was an artist and archaeologist. The following year Daumier entered
the Académie Suisse. He also worked for a lithographer and publisher named
Belliard, and made his first attempts at lithography.
Having mastered the techniques of lithography, Daumier
began his artistic career by producing plates for music publishers, and
illustrations for advertisements. This was followed by anonymous work for
publishers, in which he emulated the style of Charlet and displayed
considerable enthusiasm for the Napoleonic legend. After the revolution of 1830
he created art which expressed his political beliefs. Daumier was almost blind
by 1873. More Honoré-Victorin
Daumier
Paul Lucien Maze, (French, 1887-1979)
The Île St-Louis, Paris
Pastel on buff paper
54 x 74.5 cm. (21 1/4 x 29 5/16 in.)
Private collection
The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris. It is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges to both banks of the river, and to the Île de la Cité by the Pont Saint-Louis. This island was formerly used for the grazing of market cattle and stocking wood. One of France's first examples of urban planning, it was mapped and built from end to end during the 17th-century reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII. A peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris centre, this island has only narrow one-way streets. More The Île Saint-Louis
Paul Lucien Maze (21 May 1887 – 17 September 1979) was an Anglo-French painter. He is often known as “The last of the Post Impressionists" and was one of the great artists of his generation. His mediums included oils, watercolours and pastels and his paintings include French maritime scenes, busy New York City scenes and the English countryside. He is especially noted for his quintessentially English themes: regattas, sporting events and ceremonial celebrations, such as racing at Goodwood, Henley Regatta, Trooping the Colour and yachting at Cowes.
During the First World War, Maze met Winston Churchill in the trenches and their shared love of painting led to a lifelong friendship. Maze became Churchill’s artistic mentor, encouraging him to develop his drawing and painting techniques. More Paul Lucien Maze
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1841 - 1919
Vue du Sacré-Cœur, Circa 1905
Oil on canvas
8 1/8 x 8 ¼ in
Private collection
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur, is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1871 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871 crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.
The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919. More Basilica of the Sacred Heart
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, commonly
known as Auguste Renoir (25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919), was a
French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist
style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has
been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which
runs directly from Rubens to Watteau."
He was the father of actor Pierre Renoir (1885–1952),
filmmaker Jean Renoir (1894–1979) and ceramic artist Claude Renoir (1901–69).
He was the grandfather of the filmmaker Claude Renoir (1913–1993), son of
Pierre. More on Pierre-Auguste
Renoir
MICHEL DELACROIX, (Paris 1933)
Au Bonheur des Dames
Oil on canvas.
60 x 80 cm.
Private collection
Au Bonheur des Dames; The Ladies' Delight or The Ladies' Paradise, is the eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. The novel is set in the world of the department store. Zola consolidated in his store, under one roof, many of the goods hitherto sold in separate shops. The store is seen on the left of the painting, in blue. More Au Bonheur des Dames
Michel Delacroix was born in 1933 on the Left Bank, in the 14th Arrondissement of Paris. He started painting at the early age of seven just as the German Occupation of Paris began. Paris as it was during the Occupation is the Paris that appears in his paintings even today; there was a virtual absence of automobiles and streetlights, the city was quiet and isolated. His cityscapes display a simpler Paris of the past, of his boyhood rather than the urban metropolis of today. Delacroix was educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and spent years experimenting with several different painting styles until, at the age of 35, he began producing works in the Naïf tradition, his characteristic style.
MICHEL DELACROIX, French (b. 1933)
A Trois Jours de Noel/ Three Days of Christmas
Oil on canvas
21 1/4 x 25 1/2
Private collection
Throughout the course of his career, Delacroix has been honored with numerous awards including the Grand Prix des Amateurs d’Art, Paris (1973), the Grand Prix de la Cote d’Azur, Cannes (1976) and the Premier Prix de Sept Collines, Rome (1976). His work can be found in several public and private collections including the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain in Paris and the Musée International d’Art Naïf. Delacroix’s paintings have been featured in over 300 solo exhibitions in the United States alone. He continues to exhibit abroad in Europe and Japan. In his early eighties, Delacroix is still producing new, original paintings for his solo exhibitions worldwide. More Michel Delacroix
MICHEL DELACROIX, (Paris 1933)
Soir de Paris, Evening of Paris
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 30"
Private collection
Observers of Delacroix’s work will recognize some Parisian landmarks in his paintings, like the Eiffel Tower or the Palais Garnier; however, more often than not the artist depicts an ordinary, activity-filled street. “It’s the feeling of a simpler time: people walking their dog or a couple embracing on a balcony,” says Plotkin. Indeed, viewers may notice a recurring black and white dog present in many of the artist’s paintings, a detail that serves as homage to Delacroix’s own childhood pet. More Delacroix
MICHEL DELACROIX, (Paris 1933)
Service de nuit, Night Service
Acrylic on canvas
13" x 10 1/2"
Private collection
MICHEL DELACROIX, (Paris 1933)
Arret d'autobus, Bus Stop
Acrylic on canvas
21.5" x 25.5"
Private collection
Marc Chagall, 1887 - 1985
Vision of Paris, c. 1952
Colour lithograph
35cm x 52cm
Private collection
Marc Zakharovich Chagall (1887 – 28 March 1985)
was a Russian-French artist. An early modernist, he was associated with several
major artistic styles and created works in virtually every artistic medium,
including painting, book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramic,
tapestries and fine art prints.
Chagall
saw his work as "not the dream of one people but of all humanity.
According to art historian Michael J. Lewis, Chagall was considered to be
"the last survivor of the first generation of European modernists".
Using the medium of stained glass, he produced windows for the cathedrals of
Reims and Metz, windows for the UN, and the Jerusalem Windows in Israel. He
also did large-scale paintings, including part of the ceiling of the Paris
Opéra.
Before
World War I, he traveled between St. Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin. During this
period he created his own mixture and style of modern art based on his idea of
Eastern European Jewish folk culture. He spent the wartime years in Soviet
Belarus, becoming one of the country's most distinguished artists and a member
of the modernist avant-garde, founding the Vitebsk Arts College before leaving
again for Paris in 1922.
He experienced modernism's "golden age" in
Paris, where "he synthesized the art forms of Cubism, Symbolism, and
Fauvism, and the influence of Fauvism gave rise to Surrealism". "When
Matisse dies," Pablo Picasso remarked in the 1950s, "Chagall will be
the only painter left who understands what colour really is" More on Marc Zakharovich Chagall
Stanislas Lépine, 1835 - 1892
PARIS, LA SEINE AU PONT DE L'ESTACADE, c. 1880
PARIS, THE SEINE AT THE PONT DE L'ESTACADE
Oil on canvas
38 by 55.6cm., 15 by 22in.
Private collection
The Estacade bridge (or Estacade bridge ) is an old bridge in Paris that linked the upstream tip of Île Saint-Louis to the right bank of the Seine in a west-east orientation. It was built in 1818 with the objective of protecting the boats of the Seine from the drift of the ice in winter. A pedestrian bridge is provided to allow the crossing of the river. It was burned down in 1833 and 1843. The bridge was rebuilt in 1913. The bridge was carried away by the flood of the Seine of 1910; and finally demolished in 1932. More The Estacade bridge
Stanislas Victor Edouard Lépine (October 3, 1835 – September 28, 1892) was a French painter who specialized in landscapes, especially views of the Seine. Lépine was born in Caen. An important influence in his artistic formation was Corot, whom he met in Normandy in 1859, becoming his student the following year.
Lépine's favorite subject was the Seine, which he was to paint in all its aspects for the rest of his life. He participated in the first Impressionist exhibition, held at Nadar's in 1874, although he is generally not considered an Impressionist. His paintings are placid in mood and are usually small in scale. Lépine was awarded the First Prize medal at the Exposition of 1889. He died suddenly in Paris in 1892. More Stanislas Victor Edouard Lépine
Henri Lebasque, 1865 - 1937
LAGNY, LE PONT ET LES BATEAUX-LAVOIRS SUR LA MARNE, c. 1905-06
LAGNY, THE BRIDGE AND THE VESSELS-LAVOIRS ON THE MARNE
Oil on canvas
54.7 by 74cm., 21 1/2 by 29 1/8 in.
Private collection
Lagny-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France.
Henri Lebasque (25 September 1865 – 7 August 1937) was a French post-impressionist painter. He was born at Champigné (Maine-et-Loire). He started his education at the École régionale des beaux-arts d'Angers, and moved to Paris in 1886. Around this time, Lebasque met Camille Pissarro and Auguste Renoir, who later would have a large impact on his work.
Lebasque's vision was coloured by his contact with younger painters, especially Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, founders of the Nabis' Group. From his first acquaintance with Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, Lebasque learnt the significance of a colour theory which stressed the use of complementary colours in shading.
Lebasque was a founding member of the Salon d'Automne in 1903, with his friend Henri Matisse, and exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants. Two years later, a group of artists exhibited there including Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Ottmann, Édouard Vuillard, and Matisse.
His time in South of France would lead to a radical transformation in Lebasque’s paintings, changing his colour palette forever. Other travels included the Vendée, Normandy, and Brittany. More Henri Lebasque
Paul Signac, 1863 - 1935
PARIS, LE PONT DES SAINT-PÈRES, c. 1927
Watercolour and black chalk on paper laid down on paper
27.4 by 43.2cm., 10 3/4 by 17in.
Private collection
PONT DES SAINT-PÈRES. Sometimes referred to as the Pont du Louvre, but originally named the Pont des Saint-Peres, this is one of the many bridges over the River Seine, and the newer bridge was moved a few metres along with its four large statues, so as to make it in line with The Louvre Museum. The bridge spans the River Seine between the Quai des Tuileries and the Quai Voltaire.
Begun in 1831, the original bridge was known under that name until its inauguration, in 1834, when king Louis-Philippe named it Pont du Carrousel, because it opened on the Right Bank river frontage of the Palais du Louvre near the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in front of the Tuileries.
The bridge's architect, Antoine-Rémy Polonceau, succeeded in a design that was innovative in several aspects. For one thing, the new structure was an arch bridge, during a period when most bridge construction had turned to suspension bridges; the necessary towers and cables would have been considered unacceptable additions to the Parisian scenery. The structure combined the relatively new material of cast iron with timber. Its graduated cast-iron circular supports were quickly dubbed "napkin rings" (ronds de serviette). At each corner of the bridge were erected classic style stone allegorical sculptures by Louis Petitot, which remain. They represent Industry, Abundance, The City of Paris and The Seine.
In 1906, after seven decades of use, serious restoration was required Tthe bridge was too narrow for twentieth-century traffic, and shifted alarmingly. In 1930, its height above the river was judged insufficient for river transportation, and it was decided to scrap it for an entirely new structure to be built a few tens of metres downstream from the former one, and with greater headroom on the river. More PONT DES SAINT-PÈRES
Paul Signac, (born Nov. 11, 1863, Paris, France—died
Aug. 15, 1935, Paris) French painter who, with Georges Seurat, developed
the technique called pointillism.
When
he was 18, Signac gave up the study of architecture for painting and, through
Armand Guillaumin, became a convert to the colouristic principles of
Impressionism. In 1884 Signac helped found the Salon des Indépendants. There he
met Seurat, whom he initiated into the broken-colour technique of
Impressionism. The two went on to develop the method they called pointillism,
which became the basis of Neo-Impressionism. They continued to apply pigment in
minute dabs of pure colour, as had the Impressionists, but they adopted an
exact, almost scientific system of applying the dots, instead of the somewhat
intuitive application of the earlier masters. In watercolours Signac used the
principle in a much freer manner. After 1886 he took part regularly in the annual
Salon des Indépendants, to which he sent landscapes, seascapes, and decorative
panels. Being a sailor, Signac traveled widely along the European coast,
painting the landscapes he encountered. In his later years he painted scenes of
Paris, Viviers, and other French cities.
Signac produced much critical writing and was the
author of From Eugène Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism (1899) and Jongkind
(1927). The former book is an exposition of pointillism, while the latter is an
insightful treatise on watercolour painting. More on Paul Signac
Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others.
Some Images may be subject to copyright
I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless
it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell
me.
I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are
shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.
If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.
Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.
Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.
Posts
