Jean Antoine Théodore Gudin (; 15 August 1802 – 11 April 1880) was a French

marine painter Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...

and court painter to both king

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

and subsequently

Emperor of the French Emperor of the French ( French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First French Empire and the Second French Empire. The emperor of France was an absolute monarch. Details After rising to power by ...

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. Along with Louis-Philippe Crépin, he became one of the first two official

Peintres de la Marine Peintre is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France. Peintre or Peintres may also refer to: *Peintre Celebre (foaled 1994), thoroughbred racehorse *Peintre-graveur, an artisan who creates original works in engravings *P ...

in 1830.

Biography

Gudin was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Nothing is known of his father and, in his memoirs, he seems to suggest that his mother was a widow who took full responsibility for raising him and his older brother, Jean-Louis (1799–1823).Béraud, ''Souvenirs du Baron Gudin'', pgs. 25–26. He was enrolled at a naval school, but quit his studies to go to New York, where he mingled with the

Bonapartist Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...

s in exile. In 1819, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and sailed aboard the ''Manchester Packet'', a 250-ton

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

Eugène Sue Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue (; 26 January 18043 August 1857) was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated '' The Mysteries of Paris'', whi ...

, In
''La France maritime''
edited by Amédée Gréhan, Paris, Postel, 1837, Vol. III, pgs.158–160. In 1822, he returned to Paris and, inspired by his brother (who had become a student of

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...

) he decided to pursue a career in art and found a position in the studios of

Anne-Louis Girodet Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (; or ''de Roucy''), also known as Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson or simply Girodet (29 January 17679 December 1824),Long, George. (1851) ''The Supplement to the Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion ...

. He made his debut at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

that same year. The following year, he and his brother were involved in a shipwreck on the Seine, from which he escaped. His brother drowned, however, and this affected him deeply for the rest of his life. In 1824, he had another exhibition at the

Salon of 1824 The Salon of 1824 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris between 25 August 1824 and 15 January 1825. It took place during the Second Bourbon Restoration, Restoration Era that followed the downfall of Napoleon's First French Empire, Fre ...

and won the support of future King

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

with a painting of the ship that had taken him on a visit to America. In 1828, King

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

commissioned him to paint a depiction of Ensign who, the year before, had blown up his ship rather than surrender it to pirates. Shortly after, Gudin went with his friend,

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

officer

Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars __NOTOC__ Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars (3 August 1793 – 16 March 1864) was a French naval officer important in France's annexation of French Polynesia. Early life He was born at the castle of La Fessardière, near Saumur. His uncle Aristide Aub ...

, to participate in the Algerian Expedition, where he made numerous sketches. Upon his return, he was named a "Peintre de la Marine" at the court of Louis Philippe. Over the next few years, he made painting trips to Italy, Switzerland and Russia. He was then created a Baron by the King and commissioned to produce ninety paintings on French naval history for the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, a monumental task that apparently undermined his health. He was named an officer in the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1841. Following an exhibit in Berlin in 1845, he received the cross ''

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

''. In 1844, he married Louise Margaret Hay (1820–1890), daughter of the English General James Hay (1788–1862) and goddaughter of the King. They had three children, including the painter Henriette Gudin. During the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...

, he divided his time between France and England and remained neutral. However, during the Coup d'État of 1851, he came down firmly on the side of the Republicans. In 1857, he was named a Commander in the Legion of Honor. In 1865, back in favor with the Bonapartes, he accompanied the Emperor,

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, to Algeria and returned by way of

Tangiers Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco. Many c ...

on the Imperial

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

'' Reine Hortense''. He served as vice-president of the , which he helped to create in 1864, in memory of his late brother Jean Louis.Biography of Jean Louis Gudin
@ Gallica BnF After the fall of the Empire in 1870, he went into self-imposed exile in England and used the name "Gordon". He was able to return to France in 1879, following the death of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, and died at

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

in 1880.

References

External links

More works by Gudin
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Gudin, Theodore 1802 births 1880 deaths Painters from Paris 19th-century French painters French male painters Peintres de la Marine Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 19th-century French male artists French marine artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links