Louis Buvelot ( Morges 3 March 1814 – Melbourne 30 May 1888), born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss landscape painter who lived 17 years in Brazil and following 5 years back in Switzerland stayed 23 years in Australia, where he influenced the

Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. It has latterly been described as Australian impressionism. Melbourne art critic Sidney Dickinson coined the term in an 1891 review of works by Arthur Streeton and ...

of painters.

Early life

Buvelot was born in

Morges Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ' ...

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...

, Switzerland, second son of François Simeon Buvelot, postal official, and his wife Jeanne-Louise ''née'' Heizer, a school teacher. Louis Buvelot (who disliked his first name and never used it) worked under Marc-Louis Arland at

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, and from around 1834 continued his studies at Paris with Camille Flers, a well-known landscape painter of the day. After a few months there he migrated to

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

, Brazil where he worked on his uncle's coffee plantation. In October 1840 Buvelot moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and attracted the notice of the emperor

Dom Pedro II Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...

, who bought some of his pictures and decorated him with the

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose ( pt, Imperial Ordem da Rosa) was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was can ...

. In November 1843 Buvelot married Marie-Félicité, ''née'' Lalouette (born 1816). Buvelot returned to Switzerland in 1852 and in 1856 was awarded a silver medal for a picture exhibited at

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. Buvelot having lived in a warm country and finding the cold of Switzerland trying to his health left his family in La Chaux-de-Fonds and sailed from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

bound for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia in 1864 accompanied by Caroline-Julie Beguin, a teacher.

Career in Australia

Arriving in Melbourne in February 1865, Buvelot was in business as a photographer in

Bourke Street Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tr ...

for a year but soon resumed his painting. He lived for some years in Latrobe Street East, and then moved to George Street,

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

. His new wife, Caroline-Julie Beguin, helped by teaching French, and presently he began to find buyers for his pictures, of whom James Smith was one of the earliest. In 1869 the trustees of the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

bought two of his pictures, and in 1870 paid £131 for the ''Waterpool at Coleraine''. In 1873, 1880 and 1884 he was awarded gold medals at exhibitions held in Melbourne, and he also received a silver medal at the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876. His reputation became established, his only interest was his work, and he went on steadily painting until his death on 30 May 1888. He was buried at th
Boroondara Cemetery
where a large monument was erected in his memory. Image:Louis Buvelot - Summer afternoon, Templestowe - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Summer Afternoon, Templestowe'', 1866 Image:Louis Buvelot - At Lilydale - Google Art Project.jpg, ''At Lilydale'', 1870 Image:Louis Buvelot - One of the Falls of the Wannon, 1872.jpg, ''One of the Falls of the Wannon'', 1872 Image:Louis buvelot macedon ranges 1874.jpg, ''Macedon Ranges'', 1874

Legacy

Buvelot's widow, also an artist, died in 1902, there were no children. In July 1888 a memorial exhibition of his work was held at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and one of the galleries in that building was subsequently named after him. Buvelot is best known for his great contribution to Australian art. His works, mostly oil landscapes, are quite well regarded, but perhaps his impact was even greater as a tutor of several members of the

, including

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

, who named Buvelot's 1866 painting ''Summer Evening Near Templestowe'' the "first fine landscape painted in Victoria". His enthusiasm for ''plein air'' painting (that is, painting directly in the open air) was a key characteristic of those artists' work.

Collections

, NGV also holds and his bust by

Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 186310 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work "BM". ...

and a portrait in oils by J. C. Waite *

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Art Gallery of Western Australia The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...

Art Gallery of Ballarat The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat, both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian H ...

Geelong Gallery The Geelong Art Gallery, currently known as Geelong Gallery, is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has over 6,000 works of art in its collection. The Gallery forms Geelong's Cultural Precinct with ...

Castlemaine Art Museum Castlemaine Art Museum is an Australian art gallery and museum in Castlemaine, Victoria in the Shire of Mount Alexander. It was founded in 1913. It is housed in a 1931 Art Deco neo-classical building constructed for the purpose, heritage-listed ...

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

in London

References

External links