Paul Huet
Parigi, 1803 - 1869
He is one of the first painters in France to translate atmospheric variations and is considered, among contemporaries, the initiator and master of the romantic landscape. His ideas, about the need to observe nature directly, influence the painters of the Ecole of Barbizon. At the Salons of 1848 and 1855 he obtained the gold medal and the Universal Exhibition of 1855 decreed him great success.
From the age of thirteen he studied outdoors in the park of Saint-Cloud and Ile Séguin, already with an incredible freshness of vision. In 1818 he travelled to Normandy and the same year he entered the atelier of Pierre Narcisse Guérin. In 1819 he moved into the studio of Antoine-Jean Gros, where he befriended the Englishman Richard Parkes Bonington. In 1821 he travelled to Rouen and the following year he painted in the forest of Compiègne, making the acquaintance of Eugène Delacroix, who became his close friend.
His early works were influenced by Fragonard’s painting; he later turned to Géricault’s Romanticism. In 1824, after the discovery of Constable (perhaps thanks to the indications of Bonington), his palette was transformed and illuminated by flashes of light on dark surfaces. He is one of the first painters in France to translate atmospheric variations and is considered, among contemporaries, the initiator and master of the romantic landscape. His ideas, regarding the need to observe nature directly, influenced the painters of the Ecole of Barbizon; his pantheistic sense, open and educated spirit, earned him the esteem of Michelet, Hugo, Saint-Beuve and Lamartine.
In 1825 Huet made a trip to Normandy and in 1827 he made his debut at the Salon with the painting Environs de la Fère. He was awarded medals at the Salon (1833 and 1835) and the state acquired several of his works. He continued to travel throughout France, drawing inspiration from the regions visited, especially from Normandy, where he met Théodore Rousseau; in 1833, dazzled by the light of the Midi, he painted fiery sunsets. Appointed professor of the Duchess of Orléans (1837), he stayed at court; in 1849 he began painting in the forest of Fontainebleau at Barbizon; in 1851 he settled in Chailly.
He visited Italy, staying in Florence and Rome (1841-1843), but considered the Italian skies too serene and unsuitable for his painting; he returned to Nice in 1844 where he executed Impressionist watercolors. In 1845, for health reasons, he went to Eaux-Bonnes, where he found his friend Delacroix; the Pyrenees inspired him with vibrant canvases of colour.
At the Salons of 1848 and 1855 he obtained the gold medal and the Universal Exhibition of 1855 decreed him great success. In 1858 he travelled to the Dauphiné and around 1864 to Brittany. From there he left for Belgium and Holland to admire the works of Rubens and Rembrandt, arriving in London in 1862. Back in Paris, he worked tirelessly in Bellevue, Bas-Meudon, Sèvres and Saint-Cloud, where the floods inspired him with the large canvas presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 (now in the Louvre).
The last few years are not very happy for Huet: the death of Delacroix in 1863 grieves him deeply and the hostility that Rousseau manifests him saddened. Despite this, his painting is not affected by events; Huet always manages to perfectly convey the emotions he feels in front of the spectacle of nature. His canvases present a mixture designed to capture the light in the most faithful way possible; on the contrary, the splashes are made by jet, almost nervously. In 1896 his son René Paul offered eleven paintings at the Louvre and in 1911, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, his first retrospective was inaugurated.
Museums:
Ajaccio
Alençon
Amiens
Avignon
Bayonne
Béziers
Bourges
Bordeaux
Bourges
Caen
Cahors
Carcassonne
Compiègne, Palais
Lille
London, Victoria and Albert Museum
La Rochelle
Le-Puy-en-Velay
Lourdes
Montauban
Montpellier
Orléans
Paris, Louvre, Carnavalet, Petit Palais
Reims
Rouen, Musée des Beaux Arts
Sceaux, Musée de l’Ile de France
Valence
Vire
Bibliography:
F. Lugt, Les marques de collections de dessins & d’estampes, San Francisco, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1975; L. Harambourg, Dictionnaire des peintres paysagistes français au XIXe siècle, Neuchâtel, Ides et Calendes, 1985; Catalogue sommaire illustré des peintures, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Ed. Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1990; Guide des Collections XVIII, XIX et XX siècles, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Paris, Rèunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996; J. Bouret, L’Ecole de Barbizon, Neuchâtel, Editions Ides et Calendes; Peintres de la Côte d’Emeraude, Douarnenez, Ed. Le Chasse-Marée-ArMen, 1998; La nascita dell’Impressionismo, a cura di M. Goldin (Treviso, Casa dei Carraresi, 9.9.2000/14.01.2001), Conegliano, Ed. Linea d’Ombra Libri, 2000.
His early works were influenced by Fragonard’s painting; he later turned to Géricault’s Romanticism. In 1824, after the discovery of Constable (perhaps thanks to the indications of Bonington), his palette was transformed and illuminated by flashes of light on dark surfaces. He is one of the first painters in France to translate atmospheric variations and is considered, among contemporaries, the initiator and master of the romantic landscape. His ideas, regarding the need to observe nature directly, influenced the painters of the Ecole of Barbizon; his pantheistic sense, open and educated spirit, earned him the esteem of Michelet, Hugo, Saint-Beuve and Lamartine.
In 1825 Huet made a trip to Normandy and in 1827 he made his debut at the Salon with the painting Environs de la Fère. He was awarded medals at the Salon (1833 and 1835) and the state acquired several of his works. He continued to travel throughout France, drawing inspiration from the regions visited, especially from Normandy, where he met Théodore Rousseau; in 1833, dazzled by the light of the Midi, he painted fiery sunsets. Appointed professor of the Duchess of Orléans (1837), he stayed at court; in 1849 he began painting in the forest of Fontainebleau at Barbizon; in 1851 he settled in Chailly.
He visited Italy, staying in Florence and Rome (1841-1843), but considered the Italian skies too serene and unsuitable for his painting; he returned to Nice in 1844 where he executed Impressionist watercolors. In 1845, for health reasons, he went to Eaux-Bonnes, where he found his friend Delacroix; the Pyrenees inspired him with vibrant canvases of colour.
At the Salons of 1848 and 1855 he obtained the gold medal and the Universal Exhibition of 1855 decreed him great success. In 1858 he travelled to the Dauphiné and around 1864 to Brittany. From there he left for Belgium and Holland to admire the works of Rubens and Rembrandt, arriving in London in 1862. Back in Paris, he worked tirelessly in Bellevue, Bas-Meudon, Sèvres and Saint-Cloud, where the floods inspired him with the large canvas presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 (now in the Louvre).
The last few years are not very happy for Huet: the death of Delacroix in 1863 grieves him deeply and the hostility that Rousseau manifests him saddened. Despite this, his painting is not affected by events; Huet always manages to perfectly convey the emotions he feels in front of the spectacle of nature. His canvases present a mixture designed to capture the light in the most faithful way possible; on the contrary, the splashes are made by jet, almost nervously. In 1896 his son René Paul offered eleven paintings at the Louvre and in 1911, at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, his first retrospective was inaugurated.
Museums:
Ajaccio
Alençon
Amiens
Avignon
Bayonne
Béziers
Bourges
Bordeaux
Bourges
Caen
Cahors
Carcassonne
Compiègne, Palais
Lille
London, Victoria and Albert Museum
La Rochelle
Le-Puy-en-Velay
Lourdes
Montauban
Montpellier
Orléans
Paris, Louvre, Carnavalet, Petit Palais
Reims
Rouen, Musée des Beaux Arts
Sceaux, Musée de l’Ile de France
Valence
Vire
Bibliography:
F. Lugt, Les marques de collections de dessins & d’estampes, San Francisco, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1975; L. Harambourg, Dictionnaire des peintres paysagistes français au XIXe siècle, Neuchâtel, Ides et Calendes, 1985; Catalogue sommaire illustré des peintures, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Ed. Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1990; Guide des Collections XVIII, XIX et XX siècles, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Paris, Rèunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996; J. Bouret, L’Ecole de Barbizon, Neuchâtel, Editions Ides et Calendes; Peintres de la Côte d’Emeraude, Douarnenez, Ed. Le Chasse-Marée-ArMen, 1998; La nascita dell’Impressionismo, a cura di M. Goldin (Treviso, Casa dei Carraresi, 9.9.2000/14.01.2001), Conegliano, Ed. Linea d’Ombra Libri, 2000.
