Pierre-Désiré Guillemet (29 March 1827,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

– 29 April 1878,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) was a French history painter. He is primarily known for the Orientalist works he painted during the thirteen years he lived in Istanbul.

Biography

He was a student at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon The École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon is a school of art and design in Lyon, located in Les Subsistances, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. It is part of the École des Beaux-Arts tradition ...

from 1844 to 1847, followed by studies in Paris with

Hippolyte Flandrin Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin (23 March 1809 – 21 March 1864) was a French Neoclassical painter. His most celebrated work, ''Study (Flandrin), Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer'' ("Young Male Nude Seated beside the Sea"), from 1836, is held in ...

. From 1857 to 1863, he regularly exhibited historical scenes and portraits at all the Parisian salons.François Pouillon, ''Dictionnaire des orientalistes de langue française'', Éditions Karthala, 2012 Until 1869, he made numerous copies of portraits of

Napoléon 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 ...

and the

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

for use in various government buildings throughout France. In 1860, together with , he created a full size copy of ''

The Raft of the Medusa ''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791� ...

'' by Gericault. It was ordered by

Émilien de Nieuwerkerke Count Alfred Émilien O'Hara van Nieuwerkerke (16 April 1811, Paris – 16 January 1892, Gattaiola, near Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. T ...

, Manager of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, to be loaned for exhibitions, as the original had deteriorated to the point where it was too delicate to move.Roberta Smith, "Art Review; Oui, Art Tips From Perfidious Albion", in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'
Online
/ref> In 1865, he went to Istanbul, at the request of Sultan

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 187 ...

, an enthusiastic admirer of European arts and sciences, to paint his portrait in Western style. The Sultan was sufficiently pleased with it to name Guillemet the "Palace Painter'. He brought his wife there in 1866, and would remain for the rest of his life. In 1873, he presented the paintings of

Şeker Ahmed Pasha Ahmed Ali Pasha (1841 – 5 May 1907), better known as "Şeker" Ahmed Pasha, was an Ottoman painter, soldier and government official. His nickname "Şeker" meant "sugar" in Turkish, which he earned due to his very easy-going nature. Biography ...

; the first exhibition of works by a Turkish artist. The following year, he opened a drawing and painting academy in

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

, the European quarter of Istanbul; becoming the first of its kind there. He and his wife gave lessons in Western-style painting; primarily

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s and

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

s. In 1876, his students exhibited their works for the first time. The school gained recognition from many European artists and had the personal support of Sultan Abdulaziz, who allowed Guillemet to paint the women of his harem. In 1877, he inaugurated the "Imperial Art School" (''Mekteb-i Sanayi-i Chabane''); serving as its Director. This served as the inspiration for the "School of Fine Arts" (', now known as the

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbu ...

), which was founded by

Osman Hamdi Bey Osman Hamdi Bey (30 December 1842, in Istanbul 24 February 1910) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is regarded as th ...

in 1883. During the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

, he died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

; contracted while trying to assist the refugees and wounded who were pouring into Istanbul. He was interred in the

Pangaltı Catholic Cemetery Pangaltı Roman Catholic Cemetery ( tr, Pangaltı Fransız Latin Katolik Mezarlığı), also known as ''Feriköy Latin Catholic Cemetery'', is a historic Christianity, Christian cemetery in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest Catholic cemetery in ...

, in the

Feriköy Feriköy is a neighbourhood of Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in W ...

district.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillemet, Pierre-Desire 1827 births 1878 deaths 19th-century French painters French orientalists French portrait painters French emigrants to the Ottoman Empire Artists from Lyon Deaths from typhoid fever