Albert Carrier Belleuse, known as Carrier Belleuse, was born on 12 June 1824 at Anizy-le-château (Aisne). His father passed away when he was only 10 years old, at which point German cousins of the family, Etienne and François Arago, assumed responsibility for his education. His relationship with them was a stroke of luck for Carrier Belleuse, who was keen to earn money to help his mother and to move to Paris.

In 1834 he was working as an apprentice engraver at Bauchery's studio. When François noticed his dedication, he recommended him to David d'Angers, following which he was admitted into the workshop of the reputed Orfève Fauconnier. In 1840 he was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he forged a friendship with Jules Salmson, though he attended only briefly and left before he gained his diploma. He began to take evening classes at the Ecole Royale de Dessins et de Sculpture d'Ornament, where he made more famous friends: Carpeaux, Charles Garnier, Gabriel Davioud and Henri Chapu.

In 1850, after the 1848 revolution, he left France for England. In 1855 he returned to France. He participated for the first time in the Salon in 1857, where henceforth he exhibited annually. He was clearly a man gifted with an exceptional virtuosity, and was incredibly prolific. Following the example of Clodion, he drew inspiration from the antiquity of the Ecole Fontainebleau, which he happily adapted to the style of the second empire. In 1958, he devoted himself to monumental sculpture with La Mort du Général Desaix, which drew great attention at the Salon in 1859. He mixed in Napoleon III's circle, of whom he executed a bust, and immortalized society's highfliers, personalities from political and artistic circles including DAUMAS, DAUMIER, DENIERE and RODIN. His close friends also inspired him. In his studio he employed talented assistants amongst whom featured his son in law Chéret, and Auguste Rodin, who worked under his wing from 1864 - 1871. It is a known fact that they executed several works together, under Carrier Belleuse's name. His activity continued after the fall of the second Empire, and six new statues of his were installed in front of the ruins of Thuilleries in 1872.

From 1876 - 1887 he veered his studio work towards the manufacturing arts of Sèvres, and concentrated on bisque work. When Rodin exhibited the plaster l'homme qui s'éveille at the Salon of 1877, he was accused of making a direct mould from life. Carrier Belleuse certified that it was the work of Rodin's fair hands, thus guaranteeing the future success of the sculptor. Held in high esteem by artists, and respected by his contemporaries, his was an indisputable influence on the young talented artists of the era, such as Rodin and Carpeaux. In 1887, he died at Sèvres. His tomb at Saint Germain en Lay is adorned by a bust depicting him, sculpted by Rodin.

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'The inquisitive musketeer' he adopted impressionism immediately, and was a passionate student of optical effects. In Paris he co-founded and participated in the Salon des Independants, where he met Seurat, with whom he studied the division of tone, and analysed colour and light. He eliminated all evidence of the paintbrush and spontaneity in favour of spots of pure colour, which came to life and mixed in the eye of the observer. His canvases developed into multicoloured mosaics of simplified forms.

In 1891 he abandoned colour to focus on drawing, evoking with great sensitivity the countryside of the pays de Caux the peasants, the farms and the animals grazing.

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English by nationality owing to his father, the young Bradberry was born at Maromme near Rouen. A landscapist like his master Delattre, he would use pastels or watercolour to express, with incredible delicacy, the scrubland in the early morning fog, or enflame by autumnal colours. A tireless walker and an astute observer, his palette could render even the most subtle atmospheric variations.

In his quest for an increasingly intense light, he would happily juxtapose turquoise, red, mauve, ochre and ultramarine blue to create works full of poetic charm which were unequivocally appealing.

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A student at the lycée Corneille alongside Dumont, Pinchon, Tivert and Francis Yard, he then entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts, where he became acquainted with Marcel Couchaux, who he taught in Delattre's workshop, as well as at the meetings at Blainville-Crevon.

Writer, and by night an actor in the French theatre, Louvrier was an active participant in the artistic and literary scene of his era. He mingled with Mac Orlan, Monet, and exhibited alongside the 'masters'.

At Rouen, he was actively involved with the Group of XXX, and defended 'modern' ideas. his oeuvre is extraordinarily diverse, with as wide a range of subjects depicted as means of expressing them. Small delicate brushstrokes or large marks of the knife in a thick paste, strong-handed studies or delicate paintings, these canvasses create an intimate universe, a 'feeling' rather that a landscape, still-life or design.

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Hippolyte MADELAINE (1871-1966)

 

A watercolour painter of old Rouen and the cities of Burgundy, this employee of the Eastern Railway Company dreamed of far-flung travel. He spent some months in Argentina and, in 1936, embarked on a trip to Tahiti. The luscious vegetation of the paradise island pervaded his work: he depicted palm trees and exotic flowers clashing against the black of the volcanic ash, creating an exotic and savage beauty, mesmerizing in its dreamlike reality. On his return to Rouen, this seasoned traveler became a watercolour teacher and produced many views of the town.

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A student at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, he benefited from the 'nature lessons' of the older Charles Frechon. Disenchanted with local painting groups, he decided to set up the Société des Artistes Rouennais. An indefatigable organizer and man of action, and a strong defender of the artistic patrimony, he was a founding member of the Société des Monuments et Sites de L'Eure. He was a great lover of beauty in all its guises, from monumental sculpture to quaint thatched cottages. In his highly colourful works, flowers such as roses, tulips and lilacs dominated.

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Introduced to painting by his friend Pinchon, he began to work on le motif and met some local artists. his early works suggests an impressionist influence, but very quickly the landscapes lost their charm and tranquility, the colour schemes darkened, and the applied paint thickened. Disgusted by the archaic municipal exhibitions, the keen young artist founded the Group of XXX, who first exhibited their work in 1907. Matisse, Derain, Marquet and Vlaminck participated. Two years later, the large group became the Société de Peinture Moderne.

After experimenting with Fauvism, Dumont launched himself into cubism and then left for the capital and the Bateau Lavoir, where he spent time with Max Jacob, Picabia, Gris and Apollinaire….after his 'Parisian life' he returned to the Normandy coast, to Rouen cathedral, Gasny and the Seine valley but was troubled by violent illness, and within a short time was obliged to cease all work. Whilst his colours seem to have been sculpted on the canvas, intense and luminous in his calm periods, they became black and disappeared once his work became a cry of desperation.

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The opening of the Academie Libre presented this free spirit with the opportunity to escape from the overly placid teaching of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. As well as outdoor painting sessions there were the creative get-togethers at Blainville-Crevon, which was a real artistic melting-pot where painters, poets and musicians mixed with one another. This excitement soon faded in place of a calm and rustic way of life.

Living with his family in Sommery, a village in the pays de Bray, Couchaux exalted in the way of life of the countryside. Field labour, the movement of the workers, the gestures of the farmers and the animated henhouse were the simple but lively subjects he depicted in his paintings. Working more and more with the palette knife, he dressed his canvas in a thick paste of sumptuous colours which he then knitted together with a brush.

Given his robust style, his works had something in common with that which he painted: the men of the sea and the land of Normandy.

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Studying at the Painting Academy in Rouen at the same time as Frechon, Angrand and Delattre, he continued his training in Paris in Gérome's studio, who considered him as one of his strongest pupils.

A highly esteemed portrait painter, illustrator and poster designer, he was also a refined landscapist: Often accompanied by his friend Delattre, he would walk in the countryside around the coast at Dieppedalle or Petite-Couronne, from where one could enjoy the atmosphere of the city streets and one hundred steeples.

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A close friend of Angrand and Money, he was an unflinching fan of new ideas. His first canvasses were in the tradition of the Barbizon school, but then his style evolved, became freer. The forms simplified and the contours softened. Having lost all 'conventional' characteristics, his works were met by a baffled public. Plagued by financial problems, he was obliged to work in a factory.

In 1895 he created the Academie Libre, opening his workshop to young painters who he trained in design at Pré du Loup or on the Sainte Catherine coast, from where one could see the town, the Seine and the tall-ships.

A respected and greatly admired master amongst a whole generation of Rouen artists, he modestly wrote 'I have sounded but a small note on the flute, but it should have been in tune'.

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Industrial textile designer, he attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. After some very classic drawing lessons he adopted oil painting. 'I feel a real need to express colour, and I could attest through experience to the therapeutic aspect of modern painting, which makes light come to life on the palette'

At the beginning of the twenties, he moved to Paris, to the hill at Montmatre, and composed strongly architectural canvasses with plenty of geometric forms with muted colours. His style then evolved further: City streets transformed by his personal vision tinted with anguish and poetry.

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Whilst attending the Academie de Peinture et de Dessin in 1879, he met Lemaître, Angrand and Delattre. Like them, he was seduced by the works of the impressionists and he too chose to paint outdoors. His light pigments, applied onto the canvas in small, light stroked, created incredibly fresh landscapes: Apple trees in blossom; golden haystacks, autumn-red scrubland or snowy meadows.

A painter of the seasons, able to capture all the nuances of the Normandy countryside, he also executed some charming small works of his garden.

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Coming from a modest rural family in the pays du Caux, the young Guilbert was an apprentice when he became acquainted with the 'master of outdoors'. Whilst continuing to earn a living, he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

On Sundays he would set up his easel close to the Seine, or on the plateaus around the town. The confident colours and sensitivity of his landscapes attracted the attention of a wealthy art lover who granted him the means to focus purely on his art. As well as his Normandy paintings, inspired by sited frequented by this generation of artists, he also produced sumptuous seascapes of the Breton coast.

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He was a student of Delattre, whose example he followed: he would be found on the banks of the Seine, the surrounding meadows or on the coast. An office employee, he made the most of his spare time working on design.
He was preoccupied by the changing surfaces of the sky and water. He rendered them on the canvas with bright colour schemes.

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Although his real name was Georges Ducenne, he signed all his canvasses with the name of his maternal grandfather. A self-taught artists, a clerk at the docks and an official at the prefecture, he began to draw and paint on the banks of the Seine. A friend of Pinchon and Dumont, he accompanied the latter to the Paris Bateaux Lavoires, and from that moment dedicated himself to painting.
Landscapes and still-lives were his subjects of choice. Turning his back on design, he began to create his landscapes in his workshop. His finely constructed works left nothing to chance. Abandoning any attempt at perspective, he schematized the forms into geometrical shapes and adopted a cubist style until 1932.

From 1932, he rejected painting in favour of the theatre. His subsequent works lost their rigour, and the forms softened.

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She was the only woman in the Ecole de Rouen. She painted still-lives of flowers, rustic scenes and seascapes with sensitivity yet boldness of line. But her favorite subjects were funfairs, animated streets and markets: lively scenes in which he made free use of exhilarating colour.

 

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Albert LEBOURG (1849-1928)

Born and raised in Monsfort-sur-Risle in the L'Eure, he was seventeen when he arrived in Rouen to work for an architect. in the evenings he attended classes at the Ecole Municipale de Peinture et de Dessin. With a preference for drawing from nature rather that copying antique plaster casts, he would seek out his own 'models' in the surrounding countryside.

After four years spent in Algiers as a professor of drawing, his palette lightened. On his return to France he settled in Paris and exhibited alongside the impressionists. Like them, he would seize the ephemeral aspects of the Seine valley, translating them to the canvas with delicate strokes of grey, green and mauve, with the occasional darker mark to signal a human presence.

His extensive travels took him to new landscapes: the Auvergne, Holland, Belgium and England, but it was in la Bouille, near Rouen that he chose to retire, to be part of the spectacle of nature, far from the fashion and pictoral 'movements'.

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Raised in a family of musicians, he attended classes given by Zacharie and launched on a double artistic career. Cellist at the Théâtre des Arts, he dedicated the rest of his time to painting; He would set up his easel in working-class areas; Darnétal, le mont Gargan and the Côte Sainte-Catherine were his chosen sites. 'He excels at interpreting them, rendering them in the most moving manner, whilst his soul and his heart are dying of cold'.

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Although from Jura, it was in Paris that he started to paint, with the help of Juan Gris. In 1910 he moved to Rouen and discovered the charming old quarters.
A friend of Orthon Friesz, the young painter was seduced when he visited the cities of Fécamp, Harfleur and Honfleur. He depicted these ports with a somber palette, reducing the forms to their essential elements, and portraying real rhythm and balance in his works.

His painting, criticised as 'too minimalist' was ill-received by the Normandy public. In 193' he left Rouen for Beyrouth, where he was an active participant in the artistic life in the area until his death.

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Arriving from Rouen to carry out his military service, the young man from Valence was seduced by the medieval aspect of the town and decided to settle there. A student of Zacharie at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, he co-founded the Société des Artistes Rouennais with Delaunay.

Both a painter and a poet, he would observe the changes in nature, and would portray a peaceful and harmonious vision of a world bathed in light.

His numerous trips to Martinique, New Caledonia and China provided him with endless opportunities to evoke paradise.

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Son of a librarian from Rouen, journalist and drama critic, he was attracted to painting at a young age. He had a precocious talent, and exhibited his first painting at the age of 14. He attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and could also be found in the studio on the rue des Charettes. Depeaux, the collector, was interested in his promising talent, and introduced him to the masters Lebourg and Monet ...

Participating in the Salon in Autumn 1907, Pinchon discovered with great excitement the works of the fauvists. With Dumont he founded the Group of XXX.

A painter of light, and a great colourist, he would evoke the changing aspects of the Normandy countryside, the bursts of sunlight in the town and the fiery autumnal light with all the glory of his palette, and with the most delicate touch. Real spectacles of colour, his canvasses seduced the public as well as the Parisian critics.

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Son of a baker, he was himself an apprentice baker. He had a passion for drawing and painting, and was one of Delattres most enthusiastic pupils. He lived in Paris for several years where he contributed to illustrated newspapers which gave his flair for caricature free reign.

Returning to Rouen, he followed classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts before moving to Léry, where he was at one with nature. Influenced by the teaching of his master and by the vivacity of the fauvists, Suzanne's works were punctuated by brief, symbol-like flicks of the paintbrush.

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Poet, painter and musician, he was brought up in an environment which was favourable to artistic vocations - his father was a well known librarian from Rouen, his older brother an architect and his younger brother a sculptor.

After flirting with journalism in Paris, he veered towards painting and enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Indifferent to fashion, he painted landscapes and still- lives, playing with the chromatic balance, light effects and the balance of forms.

His oeuvre, largely destroyed by bombs, would hardly be added to after the war. He completely stopped painting in 1948.

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A Belgian painter, seduced by the cities of Normandy, Segers prowled around Saint-Maclou. He was Flemish to the core, with something of Rubens within him. He would set up his easel all over the town for paintings as balanced and solid as he.

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A brilliant student and of very cultivated spirit, he was interested in all aspects of the medieval town. He had an open mind to all forms of artistic expression, and was at once a painter, illustrator, decorator, poet and sculptor.

Oil painting came naturally to him, as did watercolour and engraving. His subjects were as varied as his modes of expression: still lives, urban landscapes and scenes from the music hall, the theatre or the circus. He produced images full of animation in which he was able to display his immeasurable talent and imagination.

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A 'disciple' of Delattre, he aligned himself with the new wave of anti-conformists who constituted the Group of XXX. It was during the exhibition in 1907 that he discovered the works of Vlaminck, Dufy, Marquet and Matisse.

Quickly breaking away from the influence of impressionism, his canvasses became more structural, his forms solid and his colours stronger. Landscapes, portraits and still lives vibrated with an intense strength. Whilst his palette was fauvist, the rigour of his compositions was indebted to Cezanne, and thus he represented a true visual synthesis.

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A musician who was mad about painting, Vaumousse was a violinist at the Théâtre des Arts. He would also frequent the studio on rue des Charettes. Following the example of the master of the outdoors, he would observe the coast, the Seine and the surrounding environment which was by nature calm yet changing, and which he rendered with great argour, in an attempt to capture the 'moment'. A large portion of his work was destroyed in the air raids.

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Henri VIGNET was a decorator, antiques dealer, musician, naturist and passionate collector. He was also a talented painter who liked to render the most picturesque aspects of old Rouen and the Ile St Louis. Isolated from the pictoral movements of the era, he simply observed and composed.

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After his studies at the Academie de peinture de Rouen and at Gérôme's studio in Paris, Lemaître became passionate for painting outdoors and for impressionism. he rallied his friends in Rouen to the cause: Frechon, Angrand and Delattre. 'Like the three musketeers, they are tour, young and fervent' wrote a critic, but the canvasses he painted in this era with great vivacity, were rejected by the public.

After several vain attempts he had to resign himself to a more 'pleasing' technique with which to represent the 'hidden corners of old Rouen' - buildings surrounded by a fog which animated a throng of small figures.

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