Brooklyn Museum - Fontaine de Vaucluse - Paul Huet

Paul Huet (3 October 1803 – 8 January 1869) was a French painter and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

born in Paris. He studied under

Gros Gros may refer to: People *Gros (surname) * Gross (surname), the German variant of Gros * Le Gros, the Norman variant of Gros Other uses * Gros (coinage), a type of 13th-century silver coinage of France * Gros (grape), another name for Elbling, ...

and Guerin. He met the English painter

Richard Parkes Bonington Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic landscape painter, who moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English sty ...

in the studio of Gros, where he studied irregularly from 1819 to 1822.Noon, Patrick J., and Stephen Bann (2003). ''Crossing the Channel: British and French painting in the age of Romanticism''. London: Tate Pub. p. 107. Bonington's example influenced Huet to reject

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

and instead paint landscapes based on close observation of nature."Paul Huet", The J. Paul Getty Museum
/ref> The British landscape paintings exhibited in the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

of 1824 were a revelation to Huet, who said of

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

's work: "It was the first time perhaps that one felt the freshness, that one saw a luxuriant, verdant nature, without blackness, crudity or mannerism." Huet's subsequent work combined emulation of the English style with inspiration derived from Dutch and Flemish old masters such as

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achi ...

, and

Meindert Hobbema Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (bapt. 31 October 1638 – 7 December 1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, ''The Avenue at Middelharnis'' (1689, National Galler ...

He exhibited in the

for the first time in 1827, when one of the eight paintings he submitted was accepted by the jury. Afterwards he showed at the Salon regularly, and won the support of many important critics. Among his champions was

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, whom Huet had met In November 1822. Less enthusiastic was

Étienne-Jean Delécluze Etienne-Jean Delécluze () (26 February 1781 – 12 July 1863) was a French painter and critic. From 1797 on, he was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, as he describes in his biography of David. As one of his favorite pupils, he was invited t ...

, who criticized Huet as "the painter who has been the most faithful to the principles of Constable,

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

, Daniell and by extension

Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as ...

... he totally neglects design." Huet participated in the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830, and was involved in republican politics for a period afterwards. He was awarded a pair of

Sèvres porcelain Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for it ...

vases from

King Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

in 1844. He was awarded a gold medal at the Salon of 1848. He exhibited in the Exposition Universelle of 1855, where he was awarded a medal, and also exhibited in the

International Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

of 1867. Huet's works, which include oil paintings, watercolors, etchings, and lithographs, are Romantic in feeling.Murray, C. J. (2004). ''Encyclopedia of the romantic era, 1760-1850''. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 527. He was unusual among French landscape painters in his use of watercolor for sketching as well as for finished works, which were often so richly developed that they resemble oil paintings.Noon, Patrick J., and Stephen Bann (2003). ''Crossing the Channel: British and French painting in the age of Romanticism''. London: Tate Pub. pp. 241, 264. The vividness with which he depicted natural forms influenced the painters of the

Barbizon School The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...

and later the

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 ...

. Huet died in Paris on 8 January 1869.

Selected works

* ''

The Flood of Saint-Cloud ''The Flood at Saint-Cloud'' (french: L'inondation à Saint-Cloud) is an oil painting by French artist Paul Huet, which was first exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris. It is now kept in the Musée du Louvre, in Paris ...

'' * ''

Normandy Thatched Cottage, Old Trouville Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huet, Paul 1803 births 1869 deaths 19th-century engravers French engravers 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French male artists