Philippe Solari
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Philippe Solari (2 May 1840 in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...
– 20 January 1906 in Aix-en-Provence) was a provencal sculptor, of Italian origin, a contemporary and friend of
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
and
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
. He acquired French nationality in 1870.


Youth

Born into a relatively poor family with six sisters, Philippe Solari was educated at the boarding school of Notre-Dame, where he got to know
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
. The two became very close friends. Later, between 1860 and 1865, Solari would attend the regular Thursday soirées at Zola's home in Paris for discussions on art; other participants included the painters
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
, another of Zola's boyhood friends, and
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 ...
. Drawn towards art, and sculpture in particular, Solari went on to attend the School of Fine Arts (Ecole des Beaux-Arts) in Aix.


Career

After winning the Prix Granet in Aix, he attended the Academy of Charles Suisse in Paris. This artist's studio, situated on the
quai des Orfèvres ''Quai des Orfèvres'' (; "Goldsmiths' Quay"; also known as ''Jenny Lamour'') is a 1947 French police procedural drama film based on the book ''Légitime défense'' by Stanislas-Andre Steeman. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot the film stars S ...
on the
Île de la Cité Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...
, also counted
Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...
,
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 ...
,
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
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...
among its students. Solari, however, found it hard to make ends meet as an artist. The painter
Achille Emperaire Achille is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * Achi ...
, trained at the same academy, commented, "Everybody had support, only poor Solari was forced to worry about his next crust." He made his debut in
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at the 1867
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 ...
. At the 1868 Salon, speaking about Solari's "Sleeping negro", Zola declared, "I find in Philippe Solari one of our two or three really modern sculptors. He has ceased to dream about absolute beauty. Beauty for him has become the living expression of nature, the interpretation of the human body." When his sculpture of
Johan Barthold Jongkind Johan Barthold Jongkind (3 June 1819 – 9 February 1891) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of Impressionism. Biography Jongkind was born in the town of Lattro ...
was unveiled in the Cemetery of Montmartre in 1904, Solari preferred not to step forward to be acknowledged. This characteristic reserve was doubtless responsible for the many closed doors that he encountered in the course of his career. A first cast of the sculpture of Jongkind is on display in rue Ganay in Aix. At the end of his life he produced two sculptures of Cézanne, one from memory (known as ''Cézanne, the dreamer''), the other sculpted from life in Cézanne's studio in Aix. The journalist Jules Bernex told an anecdote about the last sitting. When adding the final touches, the sculptor took a
pince-nez Pince-nez ( or , plural form same as singular; ) is a style of glasses, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French ''pincer'', "to pinch ...
out of his pocket and placed it on his nose. Cézanne apparently objected, exclaiming that never again would he sit for someone who could not see him with the naked eye.


Family

He married Thérèse Strempel, the daughter of a German industrialist, in 1867. Although she was to die not long afterwards, she nevertheless bore him two children: a daughter in 1867 and six years later a son, Émile, whose
godparent In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...
s would be Émile Zola and his wife. Solari had in turn been a
witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
at the Zola's marriage.


Death

While working on one of the floats for the carnival of Aix, Solari developed
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
. As he was being taken by carriage to hospital, he murmured, "What a pity about the weather." Solari died in the same year as Cézanne. The painter
Joseph Ravaisou Joseph Ravaisou (11 November 1865 – 22 December 1925) was a French landscape painter. Ravaisou was born in Bandol, Var. In 1878 he moved to Aix-en-Provence to work as a school teacher, and subsequently became a music conductor and a musi ...
commented, "The year that is ending has seen two artists pass away who, despite having very different fortunes in life, were both singled out by a detachment from worldly matters and the same propensity for pure naive emotion. One was a sculptor, the other a painter. ..
Prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...
for Cézanne and
Poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
for Solari brought comparable joys, side by side throughout the lives of the two artists, hand in hand even with the approach of death: both artists were struck down in the same circumstances by the same illness."Joseph Ravaisou, ''Lou Cade d'Aix'', 1907.


Notes


References

*''Les petits maîtres d'Aix à la belle époque'', F. Baille, 1981.
Biography of Solari from Zola archive in University of Toronto
*Translated from French version {{DEFAULTSORT:Solari, Philippe 1840 births 1906 deaths 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 20th-century French sculptors French people of Italian descent 19th-century French male artists