Gustave Loiseau
Parigi, 1865 - 1935
While in the works he retains the syntheticist construction learned from Gauguin and Bernard, Loiseau's merit is that he brought to Post-Impressionism a softer, looser touch, characterized by an original "crisscrossed" brushstroke. In some landscapes and seascapes he goes so far as to dare a juxtaposition of touches of color with highly contrasted and untraditional juxtapositions, close to the manner of Henri-Edmond Cross.
His parents, merchants originally from Pontoise, settled in Paris on the Isle Saint-Louis in 1870. After his primary studies, Loiseau was hired as an apprentice by a boat painter and then by a decorator who was a family friend.
After his military service he began painting in the countryside of Ile de France. From his grandmother he inherits money that allows him to devote himself entirely to painting and move to Montmartre. In 1889, after a year at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, he enters Quignon's Atelier, but disappointed by the experience, he decides to leave Paris for Pont-Aven, where he spends the summer.
In 1893 he joined the Societé des Artistes Indépendants and exhibited six Breton paintings at the Salon des Indépendants; he also participated with a Landscape in the 5th Exhibition of Impressionist and Symbolist Painters.
In 1894 he returned to Pont Aven and met Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard through Maxim Maufra. Loiseau was strongly impressed by the syntheticism of the two artist friends, but he adopted it only partially. He is a "pure" landscape painter, closer to Monet's Impressionist painting.
Over the next few years he continued to participate in the Salon des Indépendants and the exhibitions of the Impressionist and Symbolist painters. Influenced by Pissarro, he moved toward Post-Impressionism; this openness to novelty led him to also study and experiment with Seurat's Divisionism.
In 1895 he met art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and two years later signed a contract with Galerie Durand-Ruel, which undertook to buy most of his production. He began to travel throughout France to find new sources of inspiration.
In 1903 he participated in the Salon d'Automne (where he would show regularly until 1920) and began exhibiting at the Societé des Amis des Arts in Nantes. In 1917 he participated in a group exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, the proceeds of which went to the Fraternité des Artistes. Proceeds from the group exhibition held at Galerie Knoeder in Paris in 1921 also go to the Union of the Blind of War.
He spent the last years of his life between Pontoise and Paris.
While he retains in his works the syntheticist construction learned from Gauguin and Bernard, Loiseau's merit is that he brought to Post-Impressionism a softer, looser touch, characterized by an original "crisscrossed" brushstroke. In some landscapes and seascapes he goes so far as to dare a juxtaposition of touches of color with very contrasting and untraditional juxtapositions, close to the manner of Henri-Edmond Cross.
A great traveler and "en plain air" painter, he also devoted himself passionately to the still life theme, but only starting in 1921, when he was already 56 years old. His first still life dates from this date and has its reason in Loiseau's intended homage to Gauguin, one of the greatest still life painters of modern times. This canvas, in which one can see not only his admiration but also his respect for the great master, marks the beginning of a long series that the painter would continue in the following years.
Museums:
Geneva (Petit Palais, Musée d'Art Moderne)
Pont-Aven
Rennes (Musée des Beaux Arts)
Stuttgard (Collection Kunsthaus Buhler)
New York (MoMA)
London (British Museum)
Bibliography:
J.M. Kyriazi, Gustave Loiseau, l’historiographe de la Seine, Papyros Arts Graphiques, Biblioteque des Arts, Paris-Lausanne, 1979 ; Catalogue sommaire illustré des peintures, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Ed. Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1990; H. Belbeoch, F. Clifford, Belle-Ile en art, Henri Belbeoch, 1991; H. Belbeoch, Douarnenez « au bonheur des peintres », Henri Belbeoch, 1992 ; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996; A.A.V.V., Pointillisme, sur les traces de Seurat, Losanna, Fondations de l’Hermitage, 1997 ; Gustave Loiseau et la Bretagne, 1865 – 1935, Musée de Pont-Aven, 2001 ; Da Renoir a Picasso, un secolo d’arte al Petit Palais di Ginevra, a cura di Paola Gribaudo, Milano, Electa, 2001 ; Da Caillebotte a Picasso, I capolavori della collezione Oscar Ghez dal Museo del Petit Palais di Ginevra a cura di L. Caramel, N. Sainte Fare Garnot, G. Gentry, Milano, Mazzotta, 2003.
After his military service he began painting in the countryside of Ile de France. From his grandmother he inherits money that allows him to devote himself entirely to painting and move to Montmartre. In 1889, after a year at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, he enters Quignon's Atelier, but disappointed by the experience, he decides to leave Paris for Pont-Aven, where he spends the summer.
In 1893 he joined the Societé des Artistes Indépendants and exhibited six Breton paintings at the Salon des Indépendants; he also participated with a Landscape in the 5th Exhibition of Impressionist and Symbolist Painters.
In 1894 he returned to Pont Aven and met Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard through Maxim Maufra. Loiseau was strongly impressed by the syntheticism of the two artist friends, but he adopted it only partially. He is a "pure" landscape painter, closer to Monet's Impressionist painting.
Over the next few years he continued to participate in the Salon des Indépendants and the exhibitions of the Impressionist and Symbolist painters. Influenced by Pissarro, he moved toward Post-Impressionism; this openness to novelty led him to also study and experiment with Seurat's Divisionism.
In 1895 he met art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and two years later signed a contract with Galerie Durand-Ruel, which undertook to buy most of his production. He began to travel throughout France to find new sources of inspiration.
In 1903 he participated in the Salon d'Automne (where he would show regularly until 1920) and began exhibiting at the Societé des Amis des Arts in Nantes. In 1917 he participated in a group exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, the proceeds of which went to the Fraternité des Artistes. Proceeds from the group exhibition held at Galerie Knoeder in Paris in 1921 also go to the Union of the Blind of War.
He spent the last years of his life between Pontoise and Paris.
While he retains in his works the syntheticist construction learned from Gauguin and Bernard, Loiseau's merit is that he brought to Post-Impressionism a softer, looser touch, characterized by an original "crisscrossed" brushstroke. In some landscapes and seascapes he goes so far as to dare a juxtaposition of touches of color with very contrasting and untraditional juxtapositions, close to the manner of Henri-Edmond Cross.
A great traveler and "en plain air" painter, he also devoted himself passionately to the still life theme, but only starting in 1921, when he was already 56 years old. His first still life dates from this date and has its reason in Loiseau's intended homage to Gauguin, one of the greatest still life painters of modern times. This canvas, in which one can see not only his admiration but also his respect for the great master, marks the beginning of a long series that the painter would continue in the following years.
Museums:
Geneva (Petit Palais, Musée d'Art Moderne)
Pont-Aven
Rennes (Musée des Beaux Arts)
Stuttgard (Collection Kunsthaus Buhler)
New York (MoMA)
London (British Museum)
Bibliography:
J.M. Kyriazi, Gustave Loiseau, l’historiographe de la Seine, Papyros Arts Graphiques, Biblioteque des Arts, Paris-Lausanne, 1979 ; Catalogue sommaire illustré des peintures, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Ed. Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1990; H. Belbeoch, F. Clifford, Belle-Ile en art, Henri Belbeoch, 1991; H. Belbeoch, Douarnenez « au bonheur des peintres », Henri Belbeoch, 1992 ; G. Schurr, P. Cabanne, Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la peinture, 1820-1920, Paris, Les editions de l’amateur, 1996; A.A.V.V., Pointillisme, sur les traces de Seurat, Losanna, Fondations de l’Hermitage, 1997 ; Gustave Loiseau et la Bretagne, 1865 – 1935, Musée de Pont-Aven, 2001 ; Da Renoir a Picasso, un secolo d’arte al Petit Palais di Ginevra, a cura di Paola Gribaudo, Milano, Electa, 2001 ; Da Caillebotte a Picasso, I capolavori della collezione Oscar Ghez dal Museo del Petit Palais di Ginevra a cura di L. Caramel, N. Sainte Fare Garnot, G. Gentry, Milano, Mazzotta, 2003.
