Paul César Helleu (17 December 1859 – 23 March 1927) was a French
oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and va ...
er,
pastel artist,
drypoint
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The ...
etcher, and
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
, best known for his numerous portraits of beautiful society women of the ''
Belle Époque''. He also conceived the ceiling
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
of night sky
constellations for
Grand Central Terminal in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He was also the father of Jean Helleu and the grandfather of Jacques Helleu, both artistic directors for Parfums
Chanel.
Biography
Paul César Helleu was born in
Vannes
Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago.
History Celtic Era
The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...
,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, France. His father, who was a
customs receiver, died when Helleu was in his teens. Despite opposition from his mother, he then went to Paris and studied at
Lycée Chaptal. In 1876, at age 16, he was admitted to the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
, beginning academic training in art with
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...
. Helleu attended the Second
Impressionist Exhibition in the same year, and made his first acquaintances with
John Singer Sargent,
James McNeill Whistler, and
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 ...
. He was struck by their modern, bold
alla prima
Wet-on-wet, or ''alla prima'' (Italian, meaning ''at first attempt''), direct painting or au premier coup, is a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previously administered layers of wet paint. Used mostly in oil paint ...
technique and outdoor scenes, so far removed from the studio. Following graduation, Helleu took a job with the firm
Théodore Deck
Joseph-Théodore Deck (2 January 1823 – 15 May 1891) was a 19th-century French potter, an important figure in late 19th-century art pottery. Born in Guebwiller, Haut-Rhin, he began learning the trade in his early 20s, moving to Paris at age 24. ...
Ceramique Française hand-painting fine decorative plates. At this same time, he met
Giovanni Boldini
Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 – 11 January 1931) was an Italian genre and portrait painter who lived and worked in Paris for most of his career. According to a 1933 article in ''Time'' magazine, he was known as the "Master of Swish" becaus ...
, a portrait painter with a facile, bravura style, who became a mentor and comrade, and strongly influenced his future artistic style.
When he was 18 years old, Helleu established a close friendship with John Singer Sargent, four years his senior, that was to last his lifetime. Already becoming established, Sargent was receiving commissions for his work. Helleu had not sold anything, and was deeply discouraged almost to the point of abandoning his studies. When Sargent heard this, he went to Helleu and picked one of his paintings, praising his technique. Flattered that Sargent would praise his work, he offered to give it to him. Sargent replied, "I shall gladly accept this, Helleu, but not as a gift. I sell my own pictures, and I know what they cost me by the time they are out of my hand. I should never enjoy this pastel if I hadn't paid you a fair and honest price for it." With this he paid him a thousand-franc note.
Helleu was commissioned in 1884 to paint a portrait of a young woman named Alice Guérin (1870–1933). They fell in love, and married on 28 July 1886. Throughout their lives together, she was his favourite model. Charming, refined and graceful, she helped introduce them to the aristocratic circles of Paris, where they became popular fixtures.
On a trip to London with
Jacques-Émile Blanche
Jacques-Émile Blanche (; 1 January 1861 – 30 September 1942) was a French artist, largely self-taught, who became a successful portrait painter, working in London and Paris.
Early life
Blanche was born in Paris. His father, whose name he s ...
in 1885, Helleu met Whistler again and visited other prominent artists. His introduction to
James Jacques Tissot, an accomplished society painter from France who made his career in England, proved a revelation. In Tissot, Helleu saw, for the first time, the possibilities of
drypoint
Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate (or "matrix") with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving. The ...
etching with a diamond point
stylus directly on a
copper plate. Helleu quickly became a virtuoso of the technique, drawing with the same dynamic and sophisticated freedom with his stylus as with his pastels. His prints were very well received, and they had the added advantage that a sitter could have several proofs printed to give to relations or friends. Over the course of his career, Helleu produced more than 2,000 drypoint prints.
Soon, Helleu was displaying works to much acclaim at several galleries.
Degas
Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings.
Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...
encouraged him to submit paintings to the Eighth Impressionist Exhibition in May and June 1886. The show was installed in a Paris apartment at 1 rue Laffitte, which ran concurrently with the official Salon that year to make a statement. Although 17 artists joined the famous exhibit that included the first
Neo-Impressionistic works, Helleu, like
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. During ...
, refused to participate.
In 1886, Helleu befriended
Robert de Montesquiou
Marie Joseph Robert Anatole, comte de Montesquiou-Fézensac (7 March 1855, Paris – 11 December 1921, Menton) was a French aesthete, Symbolist poet, painter, art collector, art interpreter, and dandy. He is reputed to have been the inspira ...
, the poet and aesthete, who bought six of his drypoints to add to his large print collection. Montesquiou later wrote a book about Helleu that was published in 1913 with reproductions of 100 of his prints and drawings. This volume remains the definitive biography of Helleu. Montesquiou introduced Helleu to Parisian literary salons, where he met
Marcel Proust, who also became a friend. Proust created a literary picture of Helleu in his novel ''
Remembrance of Things Past
''In Search of Lost Time'' (french: À la recherche du temps perdu), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French ...
'' as the painter Elstir. (Later, Helleu engraved a well-known portrait of Proust on his deathbed.) Montesquiou's cousin, the
Countess Greffulhe, enabled Helleu to expand his career as a
portrait artist to elegant women in the highest ranks of Paris society, portraits that provide the basis for his modern reputation. His subjects included the
Duchess of Marlborough, the
Marchesa Casati,
Belle da Costa Greene
Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American librarian best known for managing and developing the personal library of J. P. Morgan. After Morgan's death in 1913, Greene continued as librarian for his son, Jack ...
,
Louise Chéruit
Madame Louise Chéruit (1866-1955), born Louise Lemaire, often erroneously called Mme Madeleine Chéruit, was among the foremost couturiers of her generation, and one of the first women to control a major French fashion house. Her salon operated ...
, and
Helena Rubinstein
Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1870 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporat ...
.
Looking for new inspiration, Helleu began a series of paintings and color prints of
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
s and
stained glass windows in 1893, followed by flower studies and
landscapes
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...
of parks in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
. Helleu took up
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...
, owning four yachts over his life. Ships, harbor views, life at port in
Deauville
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...
, and women in their fashionable seaside attire became subjects for many vivid and spirited works.
In 1904, Helleu was awarded the
Légion d'honneur
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 Napoleon ...
and became one of the most celebrated artists of the
Edwardian era
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victor ...
in both Paris and London. He was an honorary member in important beaux-arts societies, including the International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, headed by
Auguste Rodin, and the
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions.
1862
Es ...
.
On his second trip to the United States in 1912, Helleu was awarded the commission to design was the ceiling decoration in New York City's
Grand Central Terminal. He decided on a mural of a blue-green night sky covered by the starry signs of the
zodiac
The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...
that cross the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
. Although the
astrological
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
design was widely admired, the ceiling was covered in the 1930s. It was completely restored in 1998.
Helleu made his last trip to New York City in 1920 for an exhibition of his work, but he realized that the Belle Époque was over. He felt out of touch, and shortly after his return to France, he destroyed nearly all of his copper plates and retired to family life. While planning for a new exhibition with
Jean-Louis Forain
Jean-Louis Forain (23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph. Compared to many of his Impressionist colleagues, he was ...
, he died in 1927 at age 67 of
peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...
following surgery in Paris.
Among many of his friends was
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
, who chose beige as her signature colour upon on his advice—the colour of the sand on the beach of
Biarritz in early morning. Both his son
Jean Helleu and his grandson
Jacques Helleu became artistic directors for
Parfums Chanel.
Pastel portraits
Image:Helleu - Peggy Letellier.jpg, ''Peggy Letellier'',
pastel, 1905
Image:Helleu - Mademoiselle Vaughan.jpg, ''Mademoiselle Vaughan'',
pastel, 1905
File:Helleu - La Femme Aux Fluers.jpg, ''Lady with Flowers'', pastel on linen, 1910
Image:Helleu - Camara.jpg, ''Camara'',
pastel, 1905
Image:Helleu - Elegant Woman at the Rail.jpg, ''Elegant Woman at''
''the Rail'', pastel, 1905
Image:Helleu - On the Sofa.jpg, ''On the sofa'',
pastel, 1899
Prints
File:Helleu LXVII Le Chapeau Plissés.jpg, ''Le Chapeau Plissés'',
drypoint
File:Helleu XXIX Madame Chéruit.jpg, '' Madame Chéruit'',
drypoint
File:Helleu XLI Le Sphinx.jpg, ''Le Sphinx'',
drypoint
File:Helleu XXXI Étude d'après la même.jpg, ''Étude d'après la même'',
drypoint
File:Helleu XXIII Madame Letellier.jpg, ''Madame Letellier'',
drypoint
File:HELLEU Paul-César. P.S. Femme assise.jpg, Elegant woman in fur coat. Drypoint, color print
Oil paintings
File:Helleu - Madame Helleu SurSonYachtLetoile.jpg, ''Madame Helleu on Her Yacht L'étoile'', oil on canvas, ca. 1898–1900
File:Helleu - Le Grand Pavois.jpg, ''Le Grand Pavois'',
oil on canvas, 1901
File:Helleu - Madame Helleu Seasted at her Secretaire.jpg, ''Madame Paul Helleu Seated at Her Secretaire'', oil on canvas, 1900
File:Helleu - Young Woman in White.jpg, ''Young woman in white'' (Mrs. Helleu),
oil on canvas, 1900
Miscellaneous subjects
Image:Unterlinden-Théodore Deck-Plat (3).jpg, Théodore Deck
Joseph-Théodore Deck (2 January 1823 – 15 May 1891) was a 19th-century French potter, an important figure in late 19th-century art pottery. Born in Guebwiller, Haut-Rhin, he began learning the trade in his early 20s, moving to Paris at age 24. ...
plate decorated by Helleu, 1884, Colmar Museum
Image:Helleu XXXIV Le Joueur de Flûte.jpg, ''Le Joueur de flûte'',
color print, 1895
Image:Helleu - Hydrangeas.jpg, ''Hydrangeas'',
pastel, 1911
Image:Helleu - The Yacht Etoile.jpg, ''The Yacht L'étoile'',
oil on canvas, 1903
Image:NYC Grand Central Terminal ceiling.jpg, Grand Central Terminal ceiling in New York City
References
Sources
Montesquiou, Robert de (1913), ''Paul Helleu, Peintre et Graveur'', Paris: H. Floury. digital facsimile edition, includes 100 full page illustrations in color, at Internet Archive (also at OpenLibrary.org)
Mourey, Gabriel">Gabriel Mourey, Mourey, Gabriel, "Paul Helleu" in ''Parisian Illustrated Review'', volume 10, no. 1 (January 1901), pp. 11–17 translation of article first published in ''Revue Illustrée'', at Google Books.
* Anguissola, Alberto Beretta (2006), ''Boldini, Helleu, Sem: protagonisti e miti della Belle Epoque'', Milan: Skira.
* Wedmore, Frederick (1900?), ''Dry-points by Paul Helleu'', New York: Frederick Keppel & Co.
* Green, Richard (1991), ''Helleu: Paul Cesar Helleu, 1859-1927 : An exhibition of oils, pastels and drypoints'', London: Richard Green Gallery.
* ''Paul-César Helleu, 1859–1927: Glimpses of the Grace of Women'' (1974), New York: Knoedler.
* ''Paul Helleu: Drypoints'' (1992), London: Lumley Cazalet Ltd.
External links
Les Amis de Paul-César Helleu including online catalogue raisonné (in French)
- ''Daily Telegraph'' obituary
New York Social Diary, ''Society portraitist of the first order'' a biography of Paul Helleu
numerous reproductions of works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helleu, Paul Cesar
1859 births
1927 deaths
Artists from Vannes
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
French etchers
20th-century French printmakers
Color engravers
19th-century French male artists
Belle Époque
Pastel artists