Édouard-Auguste Imer (23 December 1820,

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

13 June 1881,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

) was a French painter of Swiss ancestry. He travelled extensively, painting landscapes throughout Europe and North Africa.

Biography

His father, Julien Auguste Imer (1787-1861), was a manufacturer and President of the Chamber of Commerce. He and Édouard's mother, Adèle Jeanrenaud (1790-1869), were originally from

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

. In 1846, he married Sophie Chaponnière (1822-1850), who died of a heart ailment; aged only twenty-seven. They had one daughter. Until his wife's death, he was a partner in his father's business. Having been exposed to art since he was a boy (his father was an amateur collector), he decided to study painting with

Émile Loubon Émile Charles Joseph Loubon (12 January 1809, Aix-en-Provence - 3 May 1863, Marseille) was a French painter, known for his panoramic landscapes of Provence, featuring figures and animals. Biography He was the son of Noël Augustin François L ...

at the . Later, he studied in England and Germany and began exhibiting at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

and would be a regular contributor until 1876. In 1849, he had made his first trip to Algeria, and became one of the first artists to paint there, rather than simply sketch. In 1853, he made an extended trip to

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

with his friends,

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 ar ...

and . He spent the winter of 1855 in Egypt, with

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

, Léon Belly and

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthol ...

, who was there at the invitation of the newly formed

Suez Canal Company Suez (, , , ) is a seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest city of the ...

. He apparently made several visits to Venice during this time, but his earliest known work depicting that city was in 1872. Many of his Orientalist paintings from this period are unaccounted for. He died while working on a commission in Haarlem. He was buried there and his grave is maintained in perpetuity by a grant from the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

. In 1900, a promenade was named after him in

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...

; one of his favorite places to paint.

Sources

* ''Edouard Imer'', exhibition catalogue, Association des Artistes, January 1882 * Lynne Thornton, ''Les Orientalistes, peintres voyageurs (1828-1908)'', Art Creation Realisation, 2001 * Marion Vidal-Bué, ''Alger et ses peintres (1830-1960)'', Méditerranée, 2000

External links

More works by Imer
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Imer, Edouard-Auguste 1820 births 1881 deaths 19th-century French painters French landscape painters French orientalists Artists from Avignon Painters from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur