Artist bio
Émile Renouf is a French painter, born June 23, 1845 in Paris and died May 4, 1894 in Le Havre.
Biography He studied at the Imperial Bonaparte high school and had as a friend Jacinthe Pozier, who also became a painter. The Pozier family will subsequently be of great help and unwavering friendship to him. After classical studies, he entered the Académie Julian and was a student of Gustave Boulanger, Jules Lefebvre and Charles Duran. Passionate about classical music, admirer of Beethoven, Gluck and Mozart, he goes with his friends almost every Sunday to applaud the works at the Pasdeloup concerts. He exhibited his first works at the Paris Salon of Painting and Sculpture between 1877 and 1881. He received the gold medal at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris.
“Strong constitution, built like a real sea dog, a blond bearded man who holds the brush as well as the oar; with that a true poet, who loves nature and spends his time among the harsh population of sea workers, which does not prevent him from also seeking his impressions elsewhere5. » He painted marine and peasant themes, often Breton, particularly after a stay on the Île de Sein. His Parisian workshop being in a terrible state, he had a new workshop built in Le Havre where he died6. His works can be found in museums in France in Amiens, Le Havre, Rouen, Liège and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York “The Widow [in fact The Widow of the Island of Sein] by M. Renouf is an excellent painting. The unfortunate woman, dressed in long mourning clothes, kneels in front of the grave where lies her loved one taken from her by the merciless Ocean that roars behind her. Next to him stands the orphan; his young thoughts are not absorbed by this dark idea of death; she floats, distracted, in his childish gaze. The feeling, which is intense and envelops the entire canvas, compensates for the inexperience of the too broad execution. But what is most remarkable is the effect of this distant sea reflecting the white and sparkling light of the sky. This is enough to make many landscapers envious8” He is buried in the Sainte-Marie cemetery in Le Havre.
Honors Knight of the Legion of Honor Knight of the Legion of Honor (1889) Primary works A Helping Hand (1881) Brooklyn Bridge (1889) The Widow of the Island of Sein (1880) Surroundings of Honfleur, spring, 1870 Surroundings of Honfleur, in the evening, 1875 Around Honfleur, winter, 1877 Maison du Haut-du-Vent, at the mouth of the Seine, 1878 River bed in a valley, 1878, oil on canvas, 134 cm × 210 The Widow of the Island of Sein, 1880, Museum of Fine Arts of Quimper. This painting was a great success at the Salon of 1880 where it received a second class medal.
A helping hand or The Helping Hand, 1881.
After a storm, 1881.
Setting Sun, 1884 A sea bass, 1885 Drifting, 188613 End of Day, 1886, 127 × 101.6 cm.
The Watchers, 1889 Brooklyn Bridge, 1889, 53.2 × 57.5 cm.
Picnic in a park Riverside, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 60 × 81 cm.cm17 Characters on the beach, oil on canvas, 21.5 cm × 35 cm18 Beachside, oil on canvas, 18 cm × 36 cm On the watch (between 1880 and 1890) (painting which inspired an engraving by George Emerick Essig, American engraver20) After the rain, 1876 Setting Sun, 1876 A valley in Finistère, 1877 A rescue, 1883. Work presented that year at the Salon des Champs Élysées.
The Pilot (Der Looste), 188322. This painting caused a sensation at the Paris Salon in 1883 Landscape (stream) (Liège Museum of Fine Arts) The Harfleur canal, 1892 Last refit, engraving, 1885 (this painting was paid for $5,000 in 1885) The fishing trip, 1892 Niagara Falls, 1893
