Henri Delavallée (1862, Reims – 1943, Pont-Aven) was a French

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

painter who became a member of the artists colony in

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French. ...

Biography

A fantastic student at school, in 1879 Delavallée enrolled simultaneously at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and at 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 century ...

where he studied under the finest art teachers of the period:

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. Biograph ...

Luc-Olivier Merson Luc-Olivier Merson (21 May 1846 – 13 November 1920) was a French academic painter and illustrator also known for his postage stamp and currency designs. Biography Born Nicolas Luc-Olivier Merson in Paris, France, he grew up in an artist ...

Henri Lehmann Henri Lehmann (; 14 April 1814 – 30 March 1882) was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist. Life Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann ( ...

and

Ernest Hébert Antoine Auguste Ernest Hébert (3 November 1817 – 5 December 1908) was a French academic painter. Biography Hébert was born in Grenoble, son of a notary in Grenoble, and moved in 1835 to Paris to study law. He simultaneously took art ...

. He also met Gabrielle Moreau, his future wife, while he was there. In the early 1880s, one of his artist friends, Hersart du Buron, encouraged him to go to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

with him to find landscapes they could paint. They visited the island of

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of governm ...

, Le Faouët and

Châteauneuf-du-Faou Châteauneuf-du-Faou () is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Châteauneuf-du-Faou is located in the middle of Brittany, between Monts d'Arrée and Montagne Noire. The town is built on a hill ov ...

before reaching Pont-Aven, where they stayed with his friend's cousins. In 1886, during one of his many stays in the village, he met

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

and

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his nota ...

."Henri Delavallée"
, ''Le Cabinet Rémois de la Généalogie''. Retrieved 21 May 2012.''L'aventure de Pont-Aven et Gauguin'', Paris, Skira, 2003, page 88. In 1887, thanks to his friend

Félix Bracquemond Félix Henri Bracquemond (22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use th ...

, he was introduced to

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

Georges Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...

. He worked with Pissarro, whose approach he particularly appreciated, in

Marlotte Bourron-Marlotte () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. In the second half of the 19th century, it was visited by several impressionist painters including Alfred Sisley, Pierre-August ...

, producing works in the

Divisionist Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, was the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of ...

and

Pointillist Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

styles. In 1889, he also made etchings. From 1891 to 1896, he exhibited at

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 ...

's gallery, at the Société des Amis des Arts in Nantes, and at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

s. In 1894, he met

in Pont-Aven. In May 1895, he exhibited three works at Liège. In 1896, the family left Paris for Constantinople where he and his wife mixed with Turkish high society. In 1901, they returned to France and established their home in Pont-Aven where they associated with

Théodore Botrel Jean-Baptiste-Théodore-Marie Botrel (14 September 1868 – 28 July 1925) was a French singer-songwriter, poet and playwright. He is best known for his popular songs about his native Brittany, of which the most famous is ''La Paimpolaise''. Durin ...

. In 1941, the Galerie Saluden in Quimper put on a retrospective of his work. He died in 1943 in Pont-Aven where he is buried.

Gallery

File:Delavallée Bretonne pipe.jpg, Henri Delavallée's engraving ''Bretonne fumant la pipe devant l'âtre File:Delavallee La Rue au soleil 1887.jpg, Henri Delavallée's ''La rue au soleil à Port-Manech''. Painted around 1887 File:Delavallée Bretonne en noir.jpg, Henri Delavallée's ''Bretonne en noir'' dating to 1893 and held in the Quimper musée des beaux-arts File:Delavallée battage.jpg, Henri Delavallée's ''Scène de battage''. Women threshing. File:Delavallée Maisons en Bretagne.jpg, Henri Delavallée's ''Maisons en Bretagne''. Houses in Brittany

References

Bibliography

*Henri Delavallée, Daniel Morane, Musée de Pont-Aven: ''Henri Delavallée, 1862-1943: catalogue de l'oeuvre gravé'', Musée de Pont-Aven, 1996, 64 pp. {{DEFAULTSORT:Delavallee, Henri Post-impressionist painters 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters 1862 births 1943 deaths Artists from Reims Pont-Aven painters University of Paris alumni 19th-century French male artists