Alfred-Pierre Joseph Agache (; 29 August 1843 – 15 September 1915), also known simply as ''Alfred Agache'', was a French

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

Biography

Little is known of Agache's life. He was born in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and exhibited his work frequently in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

until his death. He seems to have specialized in

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s and large-scale

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

paintings. He was a member of the

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

, and won a third-class medal in 1885 for his work. He may have been friends with American painter

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

and French writer Auguste Angellier; the latter dedicated a book to him around 1893. A portrait of his wife was painted by

Aimé Morot Aimé Nicolas Morot (16 June 1850 – 12 August 1913) was a French painter and sculptor in the Academic Art style. Biography Aimé Nicolas Morot, son of François-Aimé Morot and Catherine-Elisabeth Mansuy, was born in Rue d'Amerval 4 in Nancy ...

.Aimé Nicolas Morot and Charles Moreau-Vauthier, 1906. ''L'oeuvre de Aimé Morot: membre de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts''. Librairie Hachette et Cie., Paris. 7 p., 60 gravures, in folio.

Awards

At the 1889

Exposition Universelle he was decorated by a silver medal, and then a gold medal during the subsequent 1893

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

, where two of his pieces, ''"Vanity"'' and ''"The Annunciation"'', were exhibited. By decree in 10 August 1899 (declaration: 24 August 1899), he was awarded a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

hood in France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

, which was upgraded to the rank of

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

by decree on 16 May 1910 (declaration: 25 June 1910). The Three Fates after Alfred-Pierre Agache

]

Death

He died in Lille in 1915.

''"L'Épée"''

One of these paintings, ''L'Épée'' ( French language, French, "The Sword"), painted in 1896, includes the Latin phrase "PRO IUSTITIA TANTUM" (''"On behalf of Justice Only"'') to represent that violence should be used only by Justice. It was displayed at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial ar ...

that year. It was purchased by the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day ...

(CNE) in 1916 from an exhibition of paintings that were currently on loan from France. Following the CNE's decision in 1938 to cease collecting and exhibiting European art, the painting (with other French works) was loaned to the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...

(AGO); in the mid-1960s these works were formally donated to the AGO. This painting remained in the AGO's vaults until the early 1990s; it was cleaned and restored and displayed in the AGO's Fudger Gallery. In June 2005, ''"L'Épée"'' was included in an exhibition called "Favourites: Your Choices from Our Collection", which displayed works based on votes from the general public from the previous four months.

Partial list of works

*''"Portrait de femme agée"'' ("Portrait of an old woman"), 1880 * ''"Les parques''"" ("The Fates"), 1882 *''"Portrait de jeune femme"'' ("Portrait of a young woman"), 1883 *''"L'Annonciation"'' ("The Annunciation"), 1885 *''"Vanité"'' ("Vanity"), 1885 *''"La roue de la Fortune"'' ("Wheel of Fortune"), 1885 *''"Enigme"'' ("Enigma"), 1888, oil on canvas *''"La Diseuse de bonne aventure"'', 1895 *''"The Fortune Teller"'', 1895, oil on canvas *''"Jeune fille assise tenant des fleurs dans les bras"'' ("Girl sitting with flowers in her arms"), 1889 *''"Head of a Girl with Rose Corsage"'', 1890, oil on canvas *''"The Old Conqueror"'', 1904 *''"Along the Seine towards Notre Dame"'', 1905, oil on panel *''"Fantaisie"'' ("Imagination"), unknown; shown at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts, 1907 *''"Portraite"'' ("Portrait"), unknown; shown at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts, 1908 *''"Les Couronnes"'' ("The Crowns"), unknown; shown at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts, 1909 *''"Étude"'' ("Study"), unknown; shown at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts, 1910 *''"Les Masques"'' ("The Masks"), unknown; shown at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts, 1911 *''"Femme nue étendue, tête de femme"'' ("Reclining female nude, woman's head"), unknown

References

Sources

* Brooke, J.M. "AGO Vaults", ''AGO News'', February, 1992.

External links

*
Photo of Alfred-Pierre Agache at Réunion des Musées InternationauxWorks by Alfred-Pierre Agache at Réunion des Musées Internationaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agache, Alfred 1843 births 1915 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists Academic art Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Artists from Lille 19th-century French male artists