Richard Albin Ranft (18 July 1862 – 13 June 1931) was a Swiss post-impressionist portrait and landscapes painter, engraver, illustrator and poster artist.

Biography

Ranft was born in

Plainpalais Plainpalais is a neighbourhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and a former Municipalities of the canton of Geneva, municipality of the Canton of Geneva. It is mentioned in Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' in chapter 6, volume 1. Argentine author Jorge ...

and began studying painting and drawing in Geneva, under the direction of Eugene Etienne Sordet (1836-1915), who taught him the art of landscape painting. He then moved to Paris, where he attended the workshops of

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

and

Augustin-Alexandre Dumont Augustin-Alexandre Dumont, known as Auguste Dumont (4 August 1801, in Paris – 28 January 1884, in Paris) was a French sculptor. Biography He was one of a long line of famous sculptors, the great-grandson of Pierre Dumont, son of Jacques-Edme ...

, a sculptor who taught him engraving. Ranft then created many lithographed plates, including posters and etchings, while continuing with landscape painting. In Paris he was elected a Full Member of 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 ...

, in whose Salons he exhibited regularly as well as in the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sans ...

. Ranft died in June 1931. A few weeks later,

Gustave Kahn Gustave Kahn (21 December 1859, in Metz – 5 September 1936, in Paris) was a French Symbolist poet and art critic. He was also active, via publishing and essay-writing, in defining Symbolism and distinguishing it from the Decadent Movement. ...

paid tribute in the

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

, when a retrospective of the painter was organized at the Autumn Salon.

Works

Ranft illustrated several books, executed 85 original etchings in colour, 26 in black, several monotypes, one lithograph and sixteen etchings reproducing paintings by various artists, including Turner, Whistler and Reynolds. He exhibited at the First Symbolist Salon of the Rose+Croix in 1892. He was considered in England to be the best interpreter of

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

.Guillaume Apollinaire. ''On Art (Documents of 20th Century Art)''. Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1972, pages 101-102. Between 1892 and 1913 he was the author of several illustrations for books, and two novels, ''Miss Orchair'' (1892) and ''L'Illustre Famille'' (1913).

References

External links

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« Sur la plage. À l'ombrelle »
monotype preserved at the Centre Pompidou {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranft, Richard 1862 births 1931 deaths 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters French poster artists Post-impressionist painters Swiss illustrators Color engravers 19th-century Swiss male artists 20th-century Swiss male artists

Biography

Works

Further reading

References

External links