Évremond de Bérard (30 June 1824 – 25 January 1881) was a French painter and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

. He spent much of his life travelling, and was present at the opening of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

Biography

In 1843, he began four years of study in Paris with the painter and pedagogue,

François-Édouard Picot François-Édouard Picot (; 10 October 1786 – 15 March 1868) was a French painter during the July Monarchy, painting mythological, religious and historical subjects. Life Born in Paris, Picot studied with François-André Vincent and Jacq ...

. A year after completing his studies, he obtained a position as an artist and draftsman for a naval station in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. That same year, he began a three-year trip that took him to

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, the

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte bel ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and, ultimately, Brazil. In 1850, on Réunion, he married Céleste Caroline Selhausen (1827–1895), daughter of Pierre Selhausen, an infantry lieutenant and treasurer of the in Saint-Denis. The following year, his son, Gabriel (1851–1904), was born in Paris. In 1852, he presented two paintings at the seventy-fifth anniversary exhibition of 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, ...

. He then returned to live on the family estate near Sainte-Anne. Berard-Courtyard

From 1852 to 1857, he produced thirty paintings, watercolors and drawings on Guadeloupe and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

; notably, two for the new parish church in

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

. He also travelled to Trinidad,

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, Panama, Jamaica and Cuba. He also completed full-length portraits of

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (; 29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I i ...

and

Thomas-Robert Bugeaud Thomas Robert Bugeaud, marquis de la Piconnerie, duc d'Isly (15 October 178410 June 1849) was a Marshal of France and Governor-General of Algeria during the French colonization. Born an aristocrat, he has a complex legacy, serving as a soldier ...

, for the prefecture building of

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

, in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. In 1858, he created lithographs, after works by the painter,

Nélie Jacquemart Cornélie Barbe Hyacinthe Jacquemart (), known as Nélie (; 25 July 1841– 15 May 1912) was a French painter, art collector and patron of the arts. Biography She was born in Paris. Her parents had moved there from Meurthe (département), Meurth ...

, that appeared in ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...

'' He was elected a member of the in 1859. Another exhibition at the Salon followed in 1861, with scenes from India. In 1865 and 1866, agents of Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

commissioned him to create two paintings for the museums in

Bergues Bergues (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgium, Belgian border. Locally it is referred to ...

and

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

. The Empress

Eugénie Eugénie is the French version of the female given name Eugenia. Eugénie or Eugenie may refer to: People * Eugénie d'Alsace (died 735), Second abbess of Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey * Eugénie de Montijo (1826–1920), 9th Countess de Teba; later ...

invited him to attend the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869; which provided him with the opportunity to create numerous drawings and paintings of Egypt. The following year, he was elected to the

Société de Géographie The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...

. In the following three years, he painted four wall panels in the

Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology The Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology (in French, ''galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie'') is a part of the French National Museum of Natural History (''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'', MNHN). It is situated in the ''Jardin des plant ...

at the French National Museum of Natural History. Despite these successes, he found himself facing financial difficulties and was forced to have an agent sell six of his paintings on commission. Berard-Elephant

He was entrusted with an expedition to India in 1877; to do research on anthropology and botany; specifically, plant reproduction. From 1878 to 1879, he lived in the northern region of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

, which inspired numerous watercolors and drawings. By the time he returned, he was seriously ill. In 1880, some of these works became his final exhibition at the Salon. In 1881, he died of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

and was interred in the family vault at Père-Lachaise Cemetery. A retrospective exhibition of his works was presented in Paris in 2017; celebrating the publication of his biography.Gabriel de Bérard, ''Evremond de Bérard - Peintre voyageur'', Chopin, 2017

References

External links

More works by Bérard
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Berard, Evremond de 1824 births 1881 deaths 19th-century French painters French lithographers Guadeloupean people Deaths from malaria