Alfred Guillou (1844 - 1926) — French artist, who wrote paintings in the style of sentimental academism, which at the time when he lived and created in full force - the late 19th - early 20th century already seemed hopelessly outdated, perhaps, so among the world's classics of painting Guillou and did not get into the number of world classics of painting. However, the skill of the artist is not in doubt, the plots of his artwork are not devoid of originality and a certain charm, and the best picture of Guillou “Farewell” so and in general received universal recognition and is deservedly considered a true masterpiece. We will talk about it, about the life and work of the artist in this article.
Arrival of the Pardon of Sainte Anne at Concarneau
Guillou comes from the small French seaside town of Concarneau. His father worked as a farmer and fisherman, like many people of Concarneau at the time, so Alfred was familiar with the sea and the hard work of fishing since childhood, and later reflected the impressions he saw in his paintings.
An entertaining conversation
Some of them are actually portraits of the inhabitants of this town, made with impeccable knowledge of life and details, which is almost inaccessible to a visiting painter, no matter how talented he was. His paintings are also interesting from a household and historical point of view, as they allow us to learn how ordinary people lived and looked like in French seaside towns at the end of the 19th century.
From the fish market
The father of the future artist was so respected that he later became mayor of the town and worked in this position for 15 years.
The basics of painting Guillou was taught by the artist Theodore Lemonnier, who came to Concarneau on vacation, but strongly advised his student to go to the then capital of painting - Paris, to get a thorough academic education. Guillou began to study at the Academy of Suisse, and after a lot of time spent in the studio of the recognized academician Alexander Cabanel. So the choice of direction in painting was largely predetermined by his teachers, and to write otherwise, Guillou, perhaps, did not know how and did not want to.
Street Musician
Yes, and at first he was quite a successful artist. Already in 1868, when he was 24 years old, Guillou presented his first painting at the famous Paris Salon, where exhibited exclusively academicians. His style found its admirers, and the number of students exceeded all reasonable limits, and later critics all of them began to call them representatives of the “School of Concarneau”, putting in this name a somewhat disparaging meaning, considering the work of shallow provincials.
Perhaps that is why Guillou never became his own in the Parisian creative crowd, he went to his native town, where he wrote his paintings, albeit somewhat sentimental and without special creative frills, but not without a certain charm.
Unceremonious suitor
In 1892, Guillou painted the famous canvas “Goodbye!”, which became the hallmark of this artist.
Goodbye! (1892; Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper).
The plot is taken from life, although Guillou must have added drama for the sake of greater effect. A father and son set out early in the morning to go fishing, but suddenly a violent storm struck and capsized the boat. The son was thrown overboard, unable to cope with the force of the sea element, he suffocated and died. His body floated above the water, and the father desperately holds on to his tragically lost child, wishing to bid him a final goodbye. Unable to remember his grief, he kisses him one last time, realizing that it is unlikely that he will be able to bring the body home for burial, and he will probably not be able to save himself. It was an ordinary sea drama that was commonplace at the time, and almost no one knew about it, since the death of a couple of fishermen in a provincial small town was hardly reported in any newspapers.
“French Aivazovsky” Eugène Boudin, whose paintings are much more than it looks like
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