The ''Batignolles group'' (Le groupe des Batignolles) was a group of young avant-garde painters from the end of the 19th century who gathered around

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

. The group bears its name in reference to the Batignolles district, where the artists used to meet between 1869 and 1875. Many of the artists in the group later became known for the

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

movement.Rogers, Maria. (1970)

959 Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungari ...

"The Batignolles group: Creators of impressionism." pp. 194-220 in M. C. Albrecht, J. H. Barnett, et al. (eds)
The Sociology of Art and Literature
'. New York: Praeger.

Background

(1832–1883) lived on Boulevard des Batignolles, and maintained his workshop on Rue Guyot (now renamed Rue Médéric). He achieved some success at the Salon in 1861 with '' The Spanish Singer'' (1860), which received accolades from writer

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

(1821–1867) and journalist and literary critic

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

(1811–1872). This enhanced reputation also brought younger artists into Manet's sphere out of admiration and respect, making him the leader of a new avant-garde movement centered around Batignolles. The studio of academic artist

Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including H ...

(1806–1874) attracts many from what will later become the Batignolles group. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919),

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

(1839–1899), and Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870) begin studying at Gleyre in 1862, followed by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. Durin ...

in 1863. They all become friends, but Monet leaves the studio after finding it less conducive to his goals as an artist.

Cafe Guerbois

Around Manet, a group of friends formed to regularly meet in the neighborhood's cafes, in particular at the Café Guerbois (which has now disappeared, but a plaque still marks its location at 11 Avenue de Clichy).Duret, Théodore (1912)

910 Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. __NOTOC__ Events By place Europe * June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...

Manet and the French Impressionists
'. John Ernest Crawford Flitch (trans). 2nd Ed. London: Grants Richards Limited. The most frequent attendees at these meetings were Manet himself, Renoir, Sisley and Bazille. From time to time, they were joined by other painters, such as Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas, the patron and critic Edmond Maître, the writer

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

and the photographer Nadar. Their conversations and discussions contained fruitful exchanges of ideas and theories as to how to overcome the conservative

Académie des Beaux-Arts 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, ...

that controlled the annual exhibition at the

Salon de Paris 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 art ...

Franco-Prussian War

After

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

declared war on

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in 1870, many members of the group enlisted as soldiers. Cézanne avoided the draft by escaping to

L'Estaque L'Estaque is a village in southern France, just west of Marseille. Administratively, it belongs to the commune of Marseille. Overview Many artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods visited or resided there or in the surroundin ...

, a village in southern France, just west of Marseille. While there, Cézanne began to practice the new techniques he had leaned from the Batignolles group, using small brushstrokes and a brighter palette. Meanwhile, Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro all left France separately for London, England. According to Pissarro, he met up with Monet by accident in London, and they began to work together and study London landscapes: "Monet worked in the parks, while I studied the effects of fog, snow, and springtime." It was also in London where Monet and Pissarro first met and developed a relationship with French art dealer

Paul Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...

, who would later become instrumental to the success of the Impressionists, beginning with large purchases of their work in 1872. Degas fought in the National Guard and had little time to paint. Bazille died on the battlefield at

Beaune-la-Rolande Beaune-la-Rolande () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. History On 28 November 1870 it was the site of a battle during the Franco-Prussian War, in which French impressionist painter Frédéric Bazille was killed. D ...

in November at the age of twenty-eight.

Society of Artists, Painters, Sculptors and Etchers

This association became official on December 27, 1873, with a charter signed by Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, and Pierre Prins. Monet published on January 27, 1874, in issue 3 ''La Chronique des Arts'' the announcement of the foundation of the "Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs", and planned to exhibit their art independently.

First exhibition

The first exhibition of the group was held from April 15-May 15, 1874, at Nadar's former workshop at No. 35, Boulevard des Capucines.Brodskaya, Nathalia (2011). ''Claude Monet''. Parkstone International. ISBN 1780422970. One featured painting by Monet, ''

Impression, Sunrise ''Impression, Sunrise'' (French: ''Impression, soleil levant'') is an 1872 painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting is credited with inspiring ...

'', later led to the name of

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. Another of Monet's paintings, entitled '' Boulevard des Capucines'', dates from this time. The show did not go well, and many people came to laugh and deride the artists and their work.

Second exhibition

A second exhibition held in 1875 was met with violence by the crowd and the police had to be called. The paintings that did sell were sold for low prices, and many of the artists were reduced to begging for loans to survive.Hemmings, F. (1958). Zola, Manet, and the Impressionists (1875-80). PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 73(4-Part1), 407-417.

Legacy

Among the artists of the Batignolles, many later became known as great masters of the Impressionist movement. The group was immortalized in an 1870 painting by Henri Fantin-Latour, now in the Musée d'Orsay.Kisiel, M., In Perrin, P. (2018).
Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay
'. National Gallery Singapore, Art Gallery of South Australia.

Members

;Core of nine *

, nucleus * Pierre-Auguste Renoir, nucleus *

, nucleus * Frédéric Bazille, nucleus * Camille Pissarro *

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically d ...

* Berthe Morisot, only woman in the core group *

, intellectual leader * Edgar Degas ; Minor roles *

Félix Bracquemond Félix Henri Bracquemond (22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use th ...

* Armand Guillaumin * Antoine Guillemet *

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...

Gustave Caillebotte Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early ...

, patron * Edmond Maître *

, promoted and defended the group * Pierre Prins *

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

* Nadar, hosted the first exhibition of Impressionists in his studio