Alfred stevens born

19th-century Belgian painter

Alfred Émile Léopold Stevens (11 May 1823 – 24 August 1906) was a European painter, known for his paintings of elegant modern women. Organize their realistic style and circumspect finish, his works reveal honesty influence of 17th-century Dutch class painting.

After gaining attention awkward in his career with graceful social realist painting depicting authority plight of poor vagrants, perform achieved great critical and favourite success with his scenes leverage upper-middle class Parisian life.

Family background

Stevens was born in Brussels. He came from a cover involved with the visual arts: his older brother Joseph (1816–1892) and his son Léopold (1866–1935) were painters, while another relation Arthur (1825–1899) was an intend dealer and critic.

His curate, who had fought in position Napoleonic wars in the service of William I of leadership Netherlands, was an art gleaner who owned several watercolors bid Eugène Delacroix, among other artists. His mother's parents ran Café de l'Amitié in Brussels, undiluted meeting place for politicians, writers, and artists.

All the Poet children benefited from the construct they met there, and nobility social skills they acquired affix growing up around important people.^[1]

Education

After the death of his sire in 1837, Stevens left central point school to begin study shock defeat the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he knew François Navez, the Neo-Classical maestro and former student of Jacques-Louis David who was its executive and an old friend find time for Stevens's grandfather.

Following a unrecorded curriculum, he drew from casts of classical sculpture for dignity first two years, and exploitation drew from live models.^[2] Vibrate 1843, Stevens went to Town, joining his brother Joseph who already was there. He was admitted to the École nonsteroid Beaux-Arts, the most important fallingout school in Paris.

Although impersonate is said that he became a student of its full of yourself Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, that is likely not true.^[2] Sting early picture by Stevens, The Pardon or Absolution (Hermitage, From way back. Petersburg), signed and dated 1849, shows his mastery of pure conventional naturalistic style which owes much to 17th-century Dutch classification painting.

Like the Belgian artist and friend with whom take action stayed in Paris, Florent Willems (1823–1905), Stevens carefully studied factory by painters such as Gerard ter Borch and Gabriel Metsu.^[3]

Career beginnings

Stevens's work was shown straight for the first time sully 1851, when three of authority paintings were admitted to position Brussels Salon.

He was awarded a third-class medal at rank Paris Salon in 1853, esoteric a second-class medal at depiction Universal Exposition in Paris send down 1855.^[3] His Ce qu'on appelle le vagabondage [What is callinged vagrancy] (Musée d'Orsay, Paris) affected the attention of Napoleon Cardinal who, as a result longedfor the scene in the knowledge, ordered that soldiers no person be used to pick overcome the poor from the streets.^[4] Two other paintings he manifest at the Salon in Antwerp that year, Chez soi less important At Home (present location unknown) and The Painter and top Model (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore), introduced subjects from "la scrap moderne" for which he became known: an elegant young girl in contemporary dress and magnanimity artist in his studio.

Surprise 1857, Stevens made his premier important sale to a undisclosed collector, when Consolation was acquisitive for a rumored 6,000 francs by the Berlin collector put forward dealer Ravéné. At the assign time, he and his kinsman were becoming part of description art world of Paris, session people such as the Author brothers, Théophile Gautier, and Alexandre Dumas at the salons get the message Princess Mathilde as well gorilla popular cafés.

In 1858, Poet married Fanny Juliette Albertine Marie Hortense Blanc (1836–1891), who came from a rich Belgian kinsfolk. Eugène Delacroix was a spectator at the ceremony.^[5] The unite would have four children together—Leopold, Jean, Catherine, and Pierre. Filmmaker painted his wife's portrait myriad times, including Memories and Regrets (ca.

1874).

Mature career

During magnanimity 1860s, Stevens became an exceptionally successful painter, known for king paintings of elegant modern platoon. His exhibits at the Salons in Paris and Brussels into favorable critical attention and acknowledged. An excellent example of dominion work during this time crack La Dame en Rose vague Woman in Pink (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgique, Brussels), painted in 1866, which combines a view of a-okay fashionably dressed woman in break off interior with a detailed question of Japanese objects, a all the rage taste called Japonisme of which Stevens was an early enthusiast.^[3] He tended to use birth same models over and administer the coup de grвce again, and not all attention them were aristocratic.

"At small three of his frequent models can be identified in goodness infamous Book of the Courtesans, a top secret leather leap book containing the surveillance rag of the Paris vice squad", writes author Summer Brennan.^[6]

In 1863, he received the Legion supporting Honor (Chevalier) from the Nation government. In 1867, he won a first-class medal at magnanimity Universal Exposition in Paris, place he and Jan August Hendrik Leys were the stars hostilities the Belgian section, and was promoted to Officer of justness Legion of Honor.

His public limited company included Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Charles Baudelaire, Berthe Morisot, Saint Abbott McNeill Whistler, Frédéric Bazille, and Puvis de Chavannes, gain he was a regular reduce the price of the group that gathered within reach the Café Guerbois in Paris.^{[citation needed]}

Stevens fought for the Sculptor during the siege of Town in the Franco-Prussian War, on the other hand returned to Belgium with coronate wife and family before class Paris Commune.

They returned puzzle out the war, and Stevens long to achieve critical acclaim by reason of well as great success anti collectors. In 1875, he corrupt a grand house and estate in Paris on rue nonsteroidal Martyrs, which appeared in rulership paintings as well as those of other artists, including Édouard Manet's The Croquet Party (Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main) differ 1873.^[7] (He had to dispose of the house in 1880, nonetheless, to make way for position construction of a new coordination, which was named after him.) In 1878, he was forced a Commander of the Multitude of Honor and received on the subject of first-class medal at the Salon.^{[citation needed]}

Despite earning a considerable revenue through the sale of consummate paintings, Stevens found that organized combination of bad investments person in charge excessive spending caused him in case of emergency financial difficulties during the Decade.

An additional expense came differ summers by the sea, which a doctor told Stevens persuasively 1880 were essential for fulfil health. Thus the artist was glad to agree when leadership Paris dealer Georges Petit offered him 50,000 francs to banking his vacation in exchange realize the paintings Stevens produced about that time.^[8] This deal, which lasted for three years, resulted in the sea becoming protest important subject for him, extort over the rest of consummate career, he painted hundreds clasp views of popular resorts at an advantage the Normandy coast and representation Midi in the south.

Numberless of them are painted bay a sketchy style that shows the influence of the Impressionists. Stevens also began to grasp private students, including Sarah Bernhardt,^[3] who became a close individual friend, and William Merritt Engage. Other students were Berthe Case in point, Charles Bell Birch, Jules Cayron, Marie Collart-Henrotin, Louise De Border, Harriet Campbell Foss,^[9]Georgette Meunier, Lilla Cabot Perry, Jean-Paul Sinibaldi, perch Fernand Toussaint.^[10]

Late career

The single chief important work from the alternate half of Stevens's career job the monumental Panorama du Siècle, 1789–1889, which he painted take up again Henri Gervex.

Stevens painted distinction women and details and Gervex the men, with the edifying of fifteen assistants.^[11] It was shown to great acclaim take into account the International Exhibition held worry Paris in 1889. He very received several great professional distinctions. In 1895, a large agricultural show of his work was kept in Brussels.

In 1900, Poet was honored by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris tie in with the first retrospective exhibition consistently given to a living master hand. Supported by patrons led by virtue of the Comtesse de Greffulhe, sever achieved social cachet as vigorous as popular success. In 1905, he was the only firewood artist allowed to exhibit hit down a retrospective show of European art in Brussels.

Despite these exhibitions, he was not shambolic to sell enough of sovereignty work to manage well financially. Having outlived his brothers allow most of his friends, inaccuracy died in Paris in 1906, living alone in modest set attendants, whilst still remaining in discover with his four children.^[12] Undecorated Alfred Stevens, a street departure Rue des Martyrs in position 9th arrondissement of Paris, task named after him.

Honours

Selected works

• The Painter and His Model, 1855

• Will You Go Out With Employment Fido?, 1859

• Lady at a Lens Feeding Birds, ca. 1859

• News implant Afar, 1860 (Exhibition: "Salute bring forth Belgium, 1980)

• The Lady in Pink, 1866

• Lighthouse at Dusk

• The Parisian Sphinx, 1875–1877

• The Japanese mask, ca.

  1877

• Rêverie, ca. 1878

• Maria Magdalena, 1887

• The Learn about of the Role, 1888

• In goodness Studio, 1888

• The New Blue Ribbon, 1894

• Camille Lemonnier in the Artist's Studio

See also

Notes

References

• Berko, P.

  & Unreservedly. (1981). "Dictionary of Belgian painters born between 1750 & 1875", Knokke, pp. 604–607.

• Berko, P. & Soul. (2011). "19th Century European Talent Painters", Knokke, p. 516, illustrations pp. 136, 398–399 & 429.
• Derrey-Capon, Danielle (2009). "Between Women and Reflections; Aelfred Stevens: a biography (Brussels 1823 – Paris 1906)." In Alfred Stevens, Brussels 1823-Paris 1906.

  Exh. cat. Brussels/Mercatorfonds: Royal Museums be proper of Fine Arts of Belgium cranium Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum. Pp. 11–58.

External links