Gabriel-Marie Biessy
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Francia, 1854 - Bourg-la-Reine, Francia, 1935
From 1882 his canvases were admitted to the Paris Salon. Having begun to travel, mainly to North and South America, Senegal and much of Europe, his works presented at the Salons bear witness to the atmospheres and scenes of daily life observed during his travels.
In 1876 he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Lyon where he took courses under F. Clément; two years later he exhibited at the city's Salon. In 1879 he moved to Paris, studying under artists Carolus-Duran and Luc-Olivier Merson.
From 1882 his canvases were admitted to the Paris Salon. Having begun to travel, mainly to North and South America, Senegal and much of Europe, his works presented at the Salons bear witness to the atmospheres and scenes of daily life observed during his travels.
Biessy soon abandoned academic impositions, both in terms of composition and coloristic values, adopting more modern pictorial licenses, then considered revolutionary; favored subjects are views of the capital and suburbs at sunset and at night, whose charm and evocative atmosphere he succeeds perfectly in conveying.
Some of these works are admitted to the Salon des artistes français, in which he participated in 1905, 1909 and 1913.
Until 1924 he exhibited regularly at the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts; in 1883 he received an honorable mention and in 1895 became a corporate member.
He received another honorable mention at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 and a bronze medal in 1900, the year in which he executed the decoration of the Salon des Fêtes at the Exhibition.
The same year he is awarded the honor of Knight of the Legion of Honor and receives the silver medal at the Crystal Palace in London.
In his final years he is appointed director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in El Cairo.
Museums:
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Museo de la Plata
Paris, Musée d’Orsay
Bordeaux
Pau
Bibliography:
E. Bénezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris, Librairie Gründ, 1976;
Musée d’Orsay, Catalgue Sommaire illustré des peintres, Paris, Reunion des musée nationaux, 1990;
G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les éditions de l’amateur, 1996
From 1882 his canvases were admitted to the Paris Salon. Having begun to travel, mainly to North and South America, Senegal and much of Europe, his works presented at the Salons bear witness to the atmospheres and scenes of daily life observed during his travels.
Biessy soon abandoned academic impositions, both in terms of composition and coloristic values, adopting more modern pictorial licenses, then considered revolutionary; favored subjects are views of the capital and suburbs at sunset and at night, whose charm and evocative atmosphere he succeeds perfectly in conveying.
Some of these works are admitted to the Salon des artistes français, in which he participated in 1905, 1909 and 1913.
Until 1924 he exhibited regularly at the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts; in 1883 he received an honorable mention and in 1895 became a corporate member.
He received another honorable mention at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 and a bronze medal in 1900, the year in which he executed the decoration of the Salon des Fêtes at the Exhibition.
The same year he is awarded the honor of Knight of the Legion of Honor and receives the silver medal at the Crystal Palace in London.
In his final years he is appointed director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in El Cairo.
Museums:
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Museo de la Plata
Paris, Musée d’Orsay
Bordeaux
Pau
Bibliography:
E. Bénezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris, Librairie Gründ, 1976;
Musée d’Orsay, Catalgue Sommaire illustré des peintres, Paris, Reunion des musée nationaux, 1990;
G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les éditions de l’amateur, 1996
