Emmanuel De La Villeon
Fougères, Francia, 1858 - Parigi, 1944
From an early age he was attracted to literature, poetry and drawing. In 1880 he left his hometown to settle in Paris where he entered the Académie Julian. He met many painters and became friends with Alfred Roll and Emmanuel Damoye. From 1884 he began to paint outdoors; his first landscapes of the environs of Paris, Île de France and Sologne, are still close to the painting of the Barbizon School, but the trip to Holland in 1889 and the study of Jongkind's works, lead him to move towards an impressionist painting, clear, with pearly chromatics, blue and pink dominants that will characterize his paintings from now on. He stayed in Brittany, at the castle of Montmuran, with his brother. He often descends the cliffs to the sea, to paint the effects of the atmosphere that change with the changing hours of the day. The study of shading in the canvases of this period clearly reveals the Impressionist technique.
In 1890 he participated in the Salon des Indépendants with a series of Dutch landscapes that were well received by the public. The same year he exhibited two more landscapes at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux Arts and met many artists including Albert Besnard, Maxime Maufra, and Maurice Chabas.
He painted and exhibited a lot; together with the "Restless" group he participated in the exhibition organized at Galerie Georges Petit; he exhibited in Vannes, Brittany, and Angers.
In 1894 he exhibited again at Georges Petit's with the group the "Eclectic," which included Maurice Chabas, Arthur Jacquin, and Azzérat de Bouteyre, and the following year his first solo show took place in a gallery on Avenue de l'Opéra. The canvases exhibited on this occasion, landscapes and variations on the forest theme, earned him much praise. During this period he often stayed in Pesselières, at his wife's sister's, and here he found his favorite atmosphere that allowed him to practice the study of light: trees with light foliage, waters with the most varied reflections, restless skies. The comma-shaped brushstrokes highlight the influence exerted on him by Van Gogh and Seurat.
In 1898 he received a silver medal at the Exposition Internationale de Vincennes and a diploma of honor at the 6th Exposition du Travail de la ville de Paris; he continued to participate in the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux Arts and exhibitions in various French cities (Bordeaux, Rennes, etc.).
From 1901 there is a change in the artist's way of painting; the compositions become more structured thanks to the influence of master Cézanne, who exhibited with him at the Salon des Indépendants from 1899. From 1903 he exhibited Salon d'Automne, of which he became a member. In the early years of the century he produced landscapes in Brittany and Switzerland with bold tones and vigorous colors.
Perhaps no painter has studied the forest with such sensitivity; De La Villeon shows it as he perceives it with his eyes and heart. According to him, a landscape cannot be static, but continually transforms according to the hour, the season, and the weather.
In 1904 he exhibited at the regular Salons and at a gallery on rue Le Peletier with the group "Aux tendances Nouvelles."
In 1909, with artists of different ages and tendencies (Impressionists, Symbolists, Expressionists), he founded the "Société Moderne." Events take place at the Durand Ruel Galleries on Rue Lafitte. Armand Guillaumin, Odilon Redon, Maurice Chabas, Lévy-Durmer, Alcide Le Beau, Henri Ottmann, Manzana Pissarro, Picard Le Doux, and sculptors Duchamp-Villon and Albert Marque were part of the group.
Around 1910, his lyricism faded and he adopted a kind of Symbolist poetry, which, after several sojourns in Germany in the 1920s, turned into a latent Romanticism.
The outbreak of war in 1914 interrupted his stay in Bel-Air. In 1916 he obtained permission to paint in the war zone; in 1918 at the end of the conflict, La Villeon sent nine large-format canvases to an exhibition in Canada that were purchased by American collectors.
After the difficult years of the war the artist felt the need for a change of horizon, and in January 1921 he left with his family for Lavandou on the French Riviera, where he painted palm trees, beaches, gardens and the sea with the same eagerness as when he discovered Holland.
The following year in Paris he had two solo shows at Galerie Joussin and Galerie Marsan and exhibited at the Salons. The state buys him the landscape Un bras du Rhin, and in 1924 another landscape Parc fleuri is purchased by the Musée de Morlaix..
1925 is a year of intense activity for the artist, He exhibits in Copenhagen, Grenoble, the Salon des Tuileries in Paris, and as usual, the Salon d'Automne.
1927 ushered in an important series of state purchases that testified to the painter's success and central role in French artistic life: in 1927 the state purchased the canvas L'étang d'en-haut à Salvar and Bouquet for the Rennes Museum. Two years later the Museum of Cosne purchased Le Donjon de Saint-Vérain. In 1932 he participated in the Salon de la Societé des Beaux-Arts and the Museum of Vannes ad purchased La rivière de Landerneau. In 1937 the state purchases Le lavoir à Salvar. Between 1938 and 1939 he travels to Normadia and at the outbreak of World War II leaves for Yonville, where his second daughter resides, before returning to Paris. A large solo exhibition is mounted in 1943 at Galerie La Boétie. It brings together more than 130 works including oils, pastels, watercolors and drawings. The painter is 85 years old and for the first time his work can be admired in full. The exhibition, which will be the artist's last, is a great success.
Museums:
Fougères, Museée Emmanuel De La Villeon
Cosnes
Morlaix
Parigi, Petit Palais
Rennes
Vannes
Bibliography:
Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Catalogue officiel illustré, Salon 1932; E. Bénezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris, Librairie Gründ, 1976; Emmanuel de La Villeon, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, Les Editions de l’amateur, 1981; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les éditions de l’amateur, 1996
In 1890 he participated in the Salon des Indépendants with a series of Dutch landscapes that were well received by the public. The same year he exhibited two more landscapes at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux Arts and met many artists including Albert Besnard, Maxime Maufra, and Maurice Chabas.
He painted and exhibited a lot; together with the "Restless" group he participated in the exhibition organized at Galerie Georges Petit; he exhibited in Vannes, Brittany, and Angers.
In 1894 he exhibited again at Georges Petit's with the group the "Eclectic," which included Maurice Chabas, Arthur Jacquin, and Azzérat de Bouteyre, and the following year his first solo show took place in a gallery on Avenue de l'Opéra. The canvases exhibited on this occasion, landscapes and variations on the forest theme, earned him much praise. During this period he often stayed in Pesselières, at his wife's sister's, and here he found his favorite atmosphere that allowed him to practice the study of light: trees with light foliage, waters with the most varied reflections, restless skies. The comma-shaped brushstrokes highlight the influence exerted on him by Van Gogh and Seurat.
In 1898 he received a silver medal at the Exposition Internationale de Vincennes and a diploma of honor at the 6th Exposition du Travail de la ville de Paris; he continued to participate in the Salon des Indépendants, the Salon de la Societé Nationale des Beaux Arts and exhibitions in various French cities (Bordeaux, Rennes, etc.).
From 1901 there is a change in the artist's way of painting; the compositions become more structured thanks to the influence of master Cézanne, who exhibited with him at the Salon des Indépendants from 1899. From 1903 he exhibited Salon d'Automne, of which he became a member. In the early years of the century he produced landscapes in Brittany and Switzerland with bold tones and vigorous colors.
Perhaps no painter has studied the forest with such sensitivity; De La Villeon shows it as he perceives it with his eyes and heart. According to him, a landscape cannot be static, but continually transforms according to the hour, the season, and the weather.
In 1904 he exhibited at the regular Salons and at a gallery on rue Le Peletier with the group "Aux tendances Nouvelles."
In 1909, with artists of different ages and tendencies (Impressionists, Symbolists, Expressionists), he founded the "Société Moderne." Events take place at the Durand Ruel Galleries on Rue Lafitte. Armand Guillaumin, Odilon Redon, Maurice Chabas, Lévy-Durmer, Alcide Le Beau, Henri Ottmann, Manzana Pissarro, Picard Le Doux, and sculptors Duchamp-Villon and Albert Marque were part of the group.
Around 1910, his lyricism faded and he adopted a kind of Symbolist poetry, which, after several sojourns in Germany in the 1920s, turned into a latent Romanticism.
The outbreak of war in 1914 interrupted his stay in Bel-Air. In 1916 he obtained permission to paint in the war zone; in 1918 at the end of the conflict, La Villeon sent nine large-format canvases to an exhibition in Canada that were purchased by American collectors.
After the difficult years of the war the artist felt the need for a change of horizon, and in January 1921 he left with his family for Lavandou on the French Riviera, where he painted palm trees, beaches, gardens and the sea with the same eagerness as when he discovered Holland.
The following year in Paris he had two solo shows at Galerie Joussin and Galerie Marsan and exhibited at the Salons. The state buys him the landscape Un bras du Rhin, and in 1924 another landscape Parc fleuri is purchased by the Musée de Morlaix..
1925 is a year of intense activity for the artist, He exhibits in Copenhagen, Grenoble, the Salon des Tuileries in Paris, and as usual, the Salon d'Automne.
1927 ushered in an important series of state purchases that testified to the painter's success and central role in French artistic life: in 1927 the state purchased the canvas L'étang d'en-haut à Salvar and Bouquet for the Rennes Museum. Two years later the Museum of Cosne purchased Le Donjon de Saint-Vérain. In 1932 he participated in the Salon de la Societé des Beaux-Arts and the Museum of Vannes ad purchased La rivière de Landerneau. In 1937 the state purchases Le lavoir à Salvar. Between 1938 and 1939 he travels to Normadia and at the outbreak of World War II leaves for Yonville, where his second daughter resides, before returning to Paris. A large solo exhibition is mounted in 1943 at Galerie La Boétie. It brings together more than 130 works including oils, pastels, watercolors and drawings. The painter is 85 years old and for the first time his work can be admired in full. The exhibition, which will be the artist's last, is a great success.
Museums:
Fougères, Museée Emmanuel De La Villeon
Cosnes
Morlaix
Parigi, Petit Palais
Rennes
Vannes
Bibliography:
Societé Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Catalogue officiel illustré, Salon 1932; E. Bénezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris, Librairie Gründ, 1976; Emmanuel de La Villeon, Catalogue raisonné, Paris, Les Editions de l’amateur, 1981; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maîtres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les éditions de l’amateur, 1996
