Albert André ( 24 May 1869 – 11 July 1954) was a French

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

figurative painter. He produced portraits of

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, feminine sensuality ...

, his closest friend, and

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, he initially trained there designing patterns for silk. In 1889 he moved to Paris to enroll at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number ...

. There he met

Paul Ranson Paul-Élie Ranson (29 March 1861 – 20 February 1909) was a French painter and writer associated with Les Nabis. Biography He was born in Limoges. His mother died in childbirth, so he was raised and educated by his grandparents and his fa ...

Louis Valtat Louis Valtat (; 8 August 1869 – 2 January 1952) was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Fauves ("the wild beasts", so named for their wild use of color), who first exhibited together in 1905 at the Salon d'Automne. ''Les Fau ...

, and Georges d'Espagnat. He also associated with the group known as

Les Nabis Les Nabis (French: les nabis, ) were a group of young French artists active in Paris from 1888 until 1900, who played a large part in the transition from impressionism and academic art to abstract art, symbolism and the other early movements of ...

which included

Bonnard Bonnard is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Abel Bonnard (1883–1968), French poet, novelist and politician * (18881959), Swiss scholar and translator of classical Greek * Jean-Louis Bonnard (1824&ndas ...

, Vuillard, Denis, Vallotton, Marquet and Signac. In 1894, he exhibited five paintings at the

Salon des Indépendants 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 (Pa ...

where he caught the eye of

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

. Despite their age difference, a solid friendship united them until Renoir's death in 1919, providing André with guidance in his career. Through Renoir's art dealer,

Paul Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...

, André was able to sell many of his paintings in the United States through the Durand-Ruel Galleries. Between 1895 and 1901, he exhibited at the

Salon des Cent ''Salon des Cent'' ("Salon of the One Hundred") was a commercial art exhibition in Paris, based at 31 Rue Bonaparte. The ''Salon'' sold color posters, prints and reproductions of artwork to the general public at reasonable prices. It was establi ...

, the

, the Exposition d'Art Nouveau, the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

, and, in 1904, at the Salon de la Libre Esthétique in Brussels. In 1912, Durand-Ruel enabled André to exhibit his work in New York City and in 1913, he was selected to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Libre Esthétique in Brussels, showcasing works on a theme of southern France. He would later showcase his works many times in New York City, as in 1930. 1913 Albert Andre Portrait de Renoir

Demobilized from World War I in 1917, he moved to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

and then to the village of

Laudun Laudun-l'Ardoise (; oc, Laudun) is a commune in the Gard department in Occitanie (southern France). The commune name was ''Laudun'' until February 1, 2001. Population Wine Laudun is one of the communes producing Côtes du Rhône Villages ...

in the

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019; He became curator of the art museum of

Bagnols-sur-Cèze Bagnols-sur-Cèze (, literally ''Bagnols on Cèze''; oc, Banhòus de Céser) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie région in southern France. History A small regional center, Bagnols-sur-Cèze was quite certainly a Roman town ...

, where he remained until his death. In 1919, he produced a monograph, "Renoir", considered to be "one of the most accurate contemporary accounts of the artist's work", and in 1921, he organized a retrospective of Renoir's work at the Durand-Ruel Gallery. He was also very close to the art critic George Besson, a friend since 1910. In 1971, Besson decided to offer his art collection to the nation, bequeathing to the museums of

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

and Bagnols-sur-Cèze, where the museum is now called Musée Albert-André. André died on 11 July 1954 at 85 years old, shortly before his works were due to be showcased at the Avignon Museum. After his death, in 1955, the Salon d’Automne organized a retrospective of his works. Today many of his paintings are to be found in major world museums such as the Modern Art Museum of New York, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, museums in Philadelphia and Washington DC, Paris's

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French a ...

, the Galerie Rienzo, and the Musée Albert-André in France.

External links

Albert Andre Bio
- Findlay Galleries
Albert Andre on ArtNet

Albert Andre - The Museum of Modern Art

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre, Albert 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 1869 births 1954 deaths Artists from Lyon Post-impressionist painters 19th-century French male artists