Félix Ziem (26 February 1821 – 10 November 1911) was a French painter in the style of the

Barbizon School The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

, who also produced some Orientalist works.

Biography

He was born Félix-Francois Georges Philibert Ziem in

Beaune Beaune () is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annua ...

in the Côte-d'Or

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

of the Burgundy

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

of France. His mother was a native of Burgundy who had married an immigrant from Croatia. Originally, Ziem planned to be an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, studied in the École des Beaux-Arts in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, and for a time he worked as an architect. In 1839 he moved to Marseilles, where he received some informal instruction in painting from

Adolphe Monticelli Adolphe Joseph Thomas Monticelli (October 14, 1824 – June 29, 1886) was a French painter of the generation preceding the Impressionists. Biography Monticelli was born in Marseille in humble circumstances. He attended the École Municipale de ...

.Poulet & Murphy 1979, p. 45. Painting developed from a hobby into a career following a visit in 1841 to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he fell in love with the city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, a place that would become the source for many of his works, and to which he returned annually until 1892. Apart from Venetian scenes, he also painted many still lifes, portraits, and landscapes of diverse locations which reflected his travels. Following a year-long trip to the Ottoman Empire and Egypt in 1857-58, he began to include works with an Orientalist theme in his oeuvre. His landscapes included scenes from a variety of locations including

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A di ...

, Cagnes-sur-Mer and his native Burgundy. Ziem was a commercially successful artist in his own lifetime.

Career

Ziem's works were first exhibited in 1849 at the Paris Salon, and Ziem remained a regular exhibitor there for many years. He also traveled extensively throughout Europe and in 1860 moved to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, the artistic quarter of the city of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Financially successful, he was known to assist struggling young artists. In 1857, the government of France recognized his contribution to the art world by making him a

Chevalier of the Legion of Honor 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 B ...

, and an officer of the Legion in 1878. Félix Ziem died in 1911 and was interred in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

in Paris.

Selected paintings

File:Ziem - O Canal Grande em Veneza.jpg, The Grand Canal in Venice (1890-1900)
(

São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo ...

). File:Toulon visit Loubet to french italian squadrons.jpg, French President

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became mayor of Montélimar, where he was not ...

Visiting the French and Italian Squadrons in Toulon (1901) File:Félix Ziem - View of Istanbul.jpg, View of Istanbul
( Pera Museum,

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

)

References

Sources

*Poulet, A. L., & Murphy, A. R. (1979). ''Corot to Braque: French Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston''. Boston: The Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ziem, Felix 1821 births 1911 deaths People from Beaune 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French Realist painters Orientalist painters Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Peintres de la Marine Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century French male artists

Biography

Career

Selected paintings

See also

References

Sources