Victor Alfred Paul Vignon (25 December 1847– 15 March 1909) was a French

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

landscape painter and graphic artist.

Biography

His mother was

Marie-Noémi Cadiot Marie-Noémi Cadiot (; 12 December 1828, Paris – 10 April 1888, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat), also known as Noémi (or Noémie) Constant and her literary pseudonyms Claude Vignon and H. Morel, was a French sculptor, journalist and writer of the 19t ...

, a sculptor who worked under the name "Claude Vignon" Sophie Monneret, ''L'Impressionnisme et son époque'', vol. 2, t. I, and vol. 2, t. II, , Robert Laffont, 1987. (after a character from the novel ''

Béatrix ''Béatrix'' is an 1839 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie privée'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. It first appeared in the periodical ''Le Siècle'' in August ...

'' by Balzac). When he was born, she was the proprietor of a hotel which was decorated by

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

in the 1850s, so he had an early introduction to art. He studied with

Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast o ...

and Adolphe-Félix Cals.
Brief biography
@ Impressionisme. Originally, he worked in the

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

, supplemented with trips to

Clamart Clamart () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest: ''bas Clamart'', the historical centre, and ''petit Clamart'' with urbaniz ...

Bougival Bougival () is a suburban commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located west from the centre of Paris, on the left bank of the River Seine, on the departmental border with Hauts-de-Seine. I ...

, and

La Celle-Saint-Cloud La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department of the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a western suburb of Paris, from the center. Population Transport La Celle-Saint-Cloud is served by two stations on th ...

. In the 1870s, he associated with

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

and his circle in

Auvers-sur-Oise Auvers-sur-Oise (, literally ''Auvers on Oise'') is a commune in the department of Val-d'Oise, on the northwestern outskirts of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most promine ...

. In 1880, he moved to

Nesles-la-Vallée Nesles-la-Vallée () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. See also *Communes of the Val-d'Oise department The following is a list of the 184 communes of the Val-d'Oise department of France. The comm ...

then, a short time later, settled in L'Isle-Adam, where he made friends with

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

and Dr.

Paul Gachet Paul-Ferdinand Gachet (30 July 1828 – 9 January 1909) was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement ...

became one of his best customers. While there, he participated in the fifth, sixth and seventh Impressionist Exhibitions and was criticised by

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. During ...

, who believed that his sharp outlines were not truly impressionistic. This criticism was echoed in the 1890s by the critics and

Félix Fénéon Félix Fénéon (; 22 June 1861 – 29 February 1944) was a French art critic, gallery director, writer and anarchist during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He coined the term ''Neo-Impressionism'' in 1886 to identify a group of a ...

, who decided that many of his works had more resemblance to the old

Dutch Masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

. The barrage of criticism had its effect and his work was rejected for several exhibitions, including 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 ...

. Finally, Dr. Georges Viau, an oral surgeon who was an avid art collector, helped him to get his works displayed at the Exposition Universelle in 1900. Three years later,

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

and

Paul Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...

helped organise a retrospective of his work. After his death, Renoir and Julie Manet-Rouart (the daughter of

Berthe Morisot Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (; January 14, 1841 – March 2, 1895) was a French painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. In 1864, Morisot exhibited for the first time in the highly es ...

) organised another exhibition.

Selected paintings

File:Vignon Mother and child.jpg, Mother and Child
Taking a Walk File:Vignon Nature morte.jpg, Still-life with Oranges File:Vignon Groupe de Maisons.jpg, Group of Houses File:Vignon Le Hameau en Printemps.jpg, Village in Spring

References

External links

Arcadja Auctions: More works by Vignon

Biographical sketch and critical commentary
@ Van-Gogh.fr
Mentions of Vignon in Van Gogh's letters
@ the

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opened on ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vignon, Victor 1847 births 1909 deaths Landscape painters Impressionist artists 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links