Henri-Joseph Harpignies (; June 28, 1819 – August 28, 1916) was a French

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

of the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

Life

He was born at

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

. His parents intended for him to pursue a business career, but his determination to become an artist was so strong that it conquered all obstacles, and he was allowed at the age of twenty-seven to enter

Jean Achard Jean Alexis Achard () (1807–1884) was a French painter. Biography Born in Voreppe, Isère, into a farming family, Jean Alexis Achard was self-taught and started his career as a clerk for a lawyer. He began his apprenticeship by copying pai ...

's ''

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

'' 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 ...

. From this painter he acquired a groundwork of sound constructive draughtsmanship, which is so marked a feature of his landscape painting. After two years under this exacting teacher he went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, whence he returned in 1850. During the next few years he devoted himself to the painting of children in landscape setting, and fell in with

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly th ...

and the other Barbizon masters, whose principles and methods are to a certain extent reflected in his own personal art. To Corot he was united by a bond of warm friendship, and the two artists went together to Italy in 1860. On his return, he scored his first great success at the

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 ...

, in 1861, with his ''Lisière de bois sur les bords de l'Allier''. After that year he was a regular exhibitor at the old Salon; in 1886 he received his first medal for ''Le Soir dans la campagne de Rome'', which was acquired for the Luxembourg Gallery. Many of his best works were painted at Hérisson in the central France region of

Bourbonnais Bourbonnais () was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''département'' of Cher. Its capital was Moulins. History The title of the ruler of Bourbonnais ...

, as well as in the

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

regions. Among his chief pictures are: *''Soir sur les bords de la Loire'' (1861) *''Les Corbeaux'' (1865) *''Le Soir'' (1866) *''Le Saut-du-Loup'' (1873) *''La Loire'' (1882) *''Vue de Saint-Privé'' (1883). He also did some decorative work for the Paris Opéra—the ''Vallée d'Egérie'' panel, which he showed at the Salon of 1870. He had numerous students, among them Émile Appay (1876–1935), Jeanne Rongier, Jane Le Soudier (1885–1976), Louis-Alexandre Cabié, Pierre Vignal, Raymond Verdun, and Émile Dardoize (1826–1901).

References

Attribution *

External links

*
Henri Harpignies on Artcyklopedia

138 Henri Harpignies works on Paintingiant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harpignies, Henri 1819 births 1916 deaths People from Valenciennes 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French landscape painters French watercolourists 19th-century French engravers 20th-century French engravers Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century French male artists