Louise Hervieu (26 October 1878 – 11 September 1954) was a French writer, artist, painter, draftsman, and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

Biography

Syphilitic Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, and ...

of birth, of very fragile health, Louise Hervieu revealed a gift for drawing from her childhood. Discouraged after the failure of her unique exhibition of paintings in oil in 1910, she abandoned painting in favor of drawing and lithography. She illustrated ''

les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

'' and ''

le Spleen de Paris ''Le Spleen de Paris'', also known as ''Paris Spleen'' or ''Petits Poèmes en prose'', is a collection of 50 short prose poems by Charles Baudelaire. The collection was published posthumously in 1869 and is associated with literary modernism. B ...

'' by

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 fro ...

. She published collections of drawings and novels that she embellished with her illustrations. She was close to the painter , with whom she traveled several times to

Bréhal Bréhal () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in northwestern France. Population International relations Bréhal is twinned with Lydney in Gloucestershire. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Manche department The followi ...

. In 1915, the weakening of her sight forced her to go from color to black and white. A refined valorist, her technique of drawing in the wash or charcoal was characterized by the removal of certain parts of the surface of the work to obtain clear nuances by making reappear the white of the paper. One of her works, ''le Bon Vouloir'', was crowned by the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and another one, ''Sangs'', was awarded the

prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

in 1936. This award allowed her to give great publicity to the battle she led throughout her life against this scourge that made her suffer constantly. It is to Louise Hervieu that is also owed the attribution, obtained from a hard struggle in 1938, of a "health notebook", by the public authorities, to every newborn child, and in which would have been inscribed the antecedents of the parents, then all the care, all the diseases of the child, and then of the adult until his/her death, to serve in turn to keep his/her children and grandchildren healthy. The Association Louise Hervieu for the establishment of the health notebook, was created for this purpose. On 1 June 1939, finally, a ministerial decree instituted the health card for the use of French citizens. This notebook unfortunately only had an ephemeral existence. A retrospective of her works with those of

Suzanne Valadon Suzanne Valadon (23 September 18657 April 1938) was a French painter who was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon at Bessines-sur-Gartempe, Haute-Vienne, France. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des B ...

and was organised at the

Musée Galliera The Palais Galliera, also formally known as the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris (City of Paris Fashion Museum), and formerly known as Musée Galliera, is a museum of fashion and fashion history located at 10, avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, ...

of Paris, in 1961. Plaque Louise Hervieu, 55 rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris 6

The rue Louise Hervieu, a street in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

, pays homage to her. A commemorative plaque is placed on in the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

, at number 55, where she lived.

Literary works

*1921: ''Entretiens sur le dessin avec Geneviève'',

Bernheim-Jeune Bernheim-Jeune gallery is one of the oldest art galleries in Paris. Opened on Rue Laffitte in 1863 by Alexandre Bernheim (1839-1915), friend of Delacroix, Corot and Courbet, it changed location a few times before settling on Avenue Matignon. The ...

, Paris *1927: ''Le Bon Vouloir'', Librairie de France, Paris, distinguished by the

. *1924: ''L’Âme du cirque'', illustrations by , Librairie de France *1928: ''Montsouris'',

Émile-Paul frères Émile-Paul Frères was a French publishing house, whose origins date back to 1881. 'Frères' is French for 'Brothers'. The brand was created by two brothers, Albert and Robert Paul, the sons of the founder Émile Paul. It was active until 1955, ...

, Paris *1936: ''Sangs'',

Éditions Denoël Éditions Denoël is a French culture, French publishing house founded in 1930. Acquired by Éditions Gallimard in 1951, it publishes collections spanning fiction, non-fiction and comic books. It published some of the most important French authors ...

and Steele, Paris,

. *1937: ''Le Crime'', Denoël *1942: ''Lettres à Lucy Krohg'', Association *1943: ''Le malade vous parle'', Denoël *1953: ''La Rose de sang, ou Le Printemps de la jeune Heredote'', P. Cailler, Geneva

Pictorial works

;Illustrations * ''Vingt nus'', Librairie de France, Paris * ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; en, The Flowers of Evil, italic=yes) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First publish ...

'', Ollendorff, Paris, 1920 * ''Poèmes de Baudelaire'', illustrations and foreword by Louise Hervieu, Textes Prétextes, Paris, 1946 * ''Réminiscences'', Compagnie française des arts graphiques, Paris, 1946 * ''Liturgies intimes'', Paul Verlaine, illustrations by Louise Hervieu, Éditions Manuel Bruker, 1948 ;Musée national d’Art moderne de Paris * ''Dédié à Baudelaire'', before 1922 * ''Le Christ enchainé de Suippes'', before 1922 * ''Nu dans un intérieur renaissance'', before 1925 * ''La madeleine et le philosophe'', before 1927 * ''Nu dans un intérieur de style'', before 1927 * ''Choix de coquillages'', before 1931 * ''Fleurs de cerisier'', 1934 * ''Tête de clown'', 1934 * ''Noir sur noir'', 1934 * ''Fruits'', 1934 * ''Vieux dieux chinois'', 1934 * ''Massacre de cerf'', 1934 * ''La pendule'', before 1939 * ''Les pommes'', c. 1941 * ''Les poires'', c. 1941 * ''Le salon du carnet de santé'' * ''Plumes'' * ''Femme malade'' ;Musée du Louvre, département des arts graphiques * ''Coquillages et colliers'', RF 36812, recto * ''Nœud noir et plume d'autruche blanche'', RF 40961, recto * ''Vieille paysanne assise, de face, en train de coudre'', RF 28788, recto

Bibliography

* Pierre Courthion, ''Panorama de la peinture française contemporaine'', Simon Kra, 1927, (pp. 142–145) *

Claude Roger-Marx Claude Roger-Marx (12 November 1888, Paris – 17 May 1977, Paris), was a French writer, and playwright, as well as an art critic and art historian like his father Roger Marx (1859–1913). He also used the pen name "Claudinet". Biography Roge ...

, ''Éloge de Louise Hervieu'', Manuel Bruker Éditeur, 1953 * Guillaume d’Enfert, ''Louise Hervieu et Bretteville-sur-Ay. Hommage à Louise Hervieu'', publié à l’occasion du 2e Salon des écrivains du terroir de Bretteville-sur-Ay, Éditions du Jardin d’Eden, 2004 * Sanchez Nelly, « Prix Femina 1936 : Sangs de Louise Hervieu », ''New Zealand Journal of French Studies'', 2013, n°2, vol. 34, (pp. 41–54) * Sanchez Nelly, « Louise Hervieu, dessinatrice et littératrice », ''La Corne de Brume'', 2013, n°10, (pp. 41–46)

External links

Official website of Louise Hervieu

on CAIRN * ttps://www.wikimanche.fr/Louise_Hervieu Louise Hervieuon WikiManche
Louise HERVIEU (1878 - 1954)
on Stephen Ongpin Fine Art
HERVIEU Louise Jeanne Aimée (1878 -1964)
on Artprecium {{DEFAULTSORT:Hervieu, Louise 20th-century French painters French draughtsmen 20th-century French lithographers 20th-century French non-fiction writers Writers from Normandy 20th-century French women writers French feminist writers Prix Femina winners 1878 births 1954 deaths