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Robert Antoine Pinchon (, 1 July 1886 in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
– 9 January 1943 in
Bois-Guillaume Bois-Guillaume () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of Rouen, semi-rural, semi-suburban with a little farming and some light indus ...
) 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 ...
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
of the Rouen School (''l'École de Rouen'') who was born and spent most of his life in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He was consistent throughout his career in his dedication to painting landscapes ''
en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...
'' (i.e., outdoors). From the age of nineteen (1905 to 1907) he worked in a Fauve style but never deviated into
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
, and, unlike others, never found that Post-Impressionism did not fulfill his artistic needs.
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 ...
referred to him as "a surprising touch in the service of a surprising eye". Among his important works are a series of paintings of the River
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...
, mostly around Rouen, and landscapes depicting places in or near
Upper Normandy Upper Normandy (french: Haute-Normandie, ; nrf, Ĥâote-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Upper and Lower Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. History It was created in 1956 from two d ...
.


Early life

Robert Antoine Pinchon was born into an artistic and literary environment. His father, Robert Pinchon, a librarian, journalist, playwright and drama critic,Une ville pour l'impressionnisme, Monet, Pissarro et Gauguin à Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, 2010
(pdf)
latelierdutemps.com
was an intimate friend of
Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
and also became a close protege of
Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...
. Maupassant and Robert Pinchon (''La Tôque'', as they called him) co-wrote in 1875 a script for a play entitled ''A la Feuille de Rose, Maison Turque'', on the subject of eroticism and prostitution. The piece was presented officially on 15 May 1877 at the studio of
Maurice Leloir Maurice Leloir (1 November 1853 – 7 October 1940) was a French illustrator, watercolourist, draftsman, printmaker, writer and collector. Biography Leloir was the son, and pupil, of painter and watercolorist Héloïse Suzanne Colin, daughte ...
, in front of Gustave Flaubert,
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
,
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
and eight elegantly dressed masked women. Since his son showed early signs of interest and aptitude in the arts, Robert Antoine's father purchased a box of oil paints and accompanied him on long Sunday painting walks. An 1898 photograph shows him painting at the age of twelve. He exhibited some of his first paintings in 1900 at fourteen years of age.François Lespinasse, ''Robert Antoine Pinchon: 1886–1943'', 1990, repr. Rouen: Association les amis de l'École de Rouen, 2007, In 1900 Robert Antoine exhibited a painting in the storefront of a camera supply store owned by Dejonghe and Dumont in the rue de la République, one of the principle arteries of central Rouen. Though not a typical showspace, it was nonetheless visible to the public and located only a few meters from ''l'Hôtel du Dauphin et d'Espagne'', known for its exhibitions of artists such as
Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fro ...
, Monet,
Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). H ...
,
Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is espec ...
,
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 ...
, Cézanne,
Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Colette Guillaumin Colette Guillaumin (28 ...
and
Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...
. The art critic Georges Dubosc wrote an article about Pinchon's painting in ''Le Journal de Rouen'' (16 March 1900).


Education

Robert Antoine Pinchon studied at
Lycée Pierre-Corneille The Lycée Pierre-Corneille (also known as the Lycée Corneille) is a state secondary school located in the city of Rouen, France. Originally founded by the Jesuits in 1593, the school was secularized following the 1905 French law on the Separa ...
in Rouen at the turn of the century. Two other students in his class also became well-known artists and lasting friends:
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
and Pierre Dumont. Drawing classes at the Lycée were given by the stern and rigorous (1849–1915), who became assistant professor of the school in 1874. In 1879, Zacharie was named professor at the ''Académie de Peinture et de Dessin'', which would later become the '. In addition to the academic training of the Beaux-Arts, Pinchon frequented the ''Académie libre'' that had been founded in 1895-96 by
Joseph Delattre Joseph Delattre (20 August 1858, Déville-lès-Rouen – 6 August 1912) was a French painter of the Rouen School. He exhibited at the Fifth Impressionist Exhibition of 1880. Life and career Delattre was a faithful friend Charles Angrand and ...
(1858-1912) in the rue des Charrettes, a rallying point for independent artists of the new generation of l'École de Rouen.


Career


1903–1914

In February 1903 Marcel Duchamps painted a portrait of his friend Robert Antoine Pinchon (reproduced in François Lespinasse, 2007, p. 18). From 15 June to 31 July, at the Salon Municipal des Beaux-arts de Rouen, Pinchon exhibited two paintings: ''La Lande à Petit-Couronne'' and ''La Seine à Croisset''. The art critic Charles Hilbert Dufour wrote an article in which he makes favourable mention of the entries by Pinchon, who was still only 17. At the 1903 Exposition des Beaux Arts held in Rouen from 14 May to 15 July, Robert Antoine Pinchon exhibited with Charles Frechon, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet and Claude Monet, who presented '' La Cathédrale de Rouen''. Pinchon's work was noticed by Impressionist art collector François Depeaux (1853–1920), at whose home he had the opportunity to converse many times with
Albert Lebourg Albert Lebourg (1 February 1849, in Montfort-sur-Risle – 6 January 1928, in Rouen), birth name ''Albert-Marie Lebourg'', also called ''Albert-Charles Lebourg'' and ''Charles Albert Lebourg'', was a French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist la ...
,
Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...
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 ...
; Monet characterized him as "a surprising touch in the service of a surprising eye" (''étonnante patte au service d'un oeil surprenant'').Lucien Félicianne, Sandrine Boulay, Emmanuel Caron
Le jardin maraîcher—Robert-Antoine Pinchon
Fiche pédagogique, CRDP de Haute-Normandie (pdf)
Encouraged by Monet's praise, François Depeaux decided to take charge of the young artist's career; at first by purchasing several of Pinchon's works. This was the beginning of a relationship that would last until 1920.Alain Garric
Robert Antoine Pinchon
geneanet.org
In 1904 Pinchon designed the cover of a program for the ''Theatre Normand''. The occasion was for a play by Guy de Maupassant. From 18 July to 18 September Pinchon exhibited, this time alongside Luce, Lebourg and Camoin, at the Casino de Dieppe. At the age of nineteen, while still a student at l'École des Beaux-Arts, he had his first major exhibition; at the Galerie Legrip, Rouen, 27 April–13 May 1905, with twenty-four paintings on display. Two articles in the press followed (''La Dépêche de Rouen'', 16 April, and ''Journal de Rouen'', 28 April). The same year Robert Antoine Pinchon showed in Paris for the first time. The occasion was the 1905
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 ...
(18 October to 25 November), an exhibition that witnessed the birth of
Fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...
. "A pot of paint has been flung in the face of the public," wrote the critic
Camille Mauclair Séverin Faust (December 29, 1872, Paris – April 23, 1945), better known by his pseudonym Camille Mauclair, was a French poet, novelist, biographer, travel writer, and art critic. Background Mauclair was a great admirer of Stéphane Mallarmé, ...
.
Louis Vauxcelles Louis Vauxcelles (born Louis Meyer; 1 January 187021 July 1943) was a French art critic. He is credited with coining the terms '' Fauvism'' (1905) and ''Cubism'' (1908). He used several pseudonyms in various publications: Pinturrichio, Vasari, ...
coined the phrase ''les fauves'' ('the wild beasts') to describe a circle of painters exhibiting in the same room as a classical sculpture. He stated his criticism of their works by describing the sculpture as "a Donatello amongst wild beasts" (''Donatello chez les fauves'').Louis Vauxcelles, ''Le Salon d'Automne'', Gil Blas, 17 October 1905. Screen 5 and 6. Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France
Another art critic responding to the Salon d'Automne, Marcel Nicolle, wrote in the ''Journal de Rouen'' on 20 November that these works have "no relation to painting" and compared them to "the barbaric and naïve games of a child who plays with a box of colors". Of Pinchon's three paintings (''Le Pont Transbordeur à Rouen, Le Pont de Boieldieu, à Rouen, Vieilles Cabanes dans l'Île Lacroix, à Rouen'') he wrote: "Showing for his first time in Paris... the technique is a bit heavy, but we shouldn't be too severe toward a beginner, especially after what we saw elsewhere in the Salon". Though Pinchon had not exhibited in room VII with the ''fauves'', his palette was already pure and his impasto thick. On 31 September 1906 Pinchon joined the 39th Infantry Regiment. Marcel Duchamp had just finished his military service with the same regiment. In 1906 Pinchon showed again in Paris, at the 4th Salon d'Automne: ''Prairies inondées (Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, près de Rouen)'', (no. 1367 of the catalogue) Musée de Louviers,
Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.1906 Salon d'automne; Société du Salon d'automne
Catalogue des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, dessin, gravure, architecture et art décoratif. Exposés au Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, 1906
His paintings of this period are closely related to the Post-Impressionist and Fauvist styles, with golden yellows, incandescent blues, a thick impasto and larger brushstrokes. At the instigation of Pierre Dumont and inspired by Othon Friesz's group called Le Cercle de l'Art Moderne, in Le Havre, the group XXX (thirty) was formed as a collective of independent writers, painters and sculptors from the vicinity of Rouen,Edition du Groupe des XXX (trente), Paris, Rouen, December 1907
/ref> including
Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...
, Derain, Dufy and Vlaminck contributing to the endeavor. Pinchon joined XXX that year. The group published a "manifesto" called "Almanach pour 1908" and included artists typically associated with the new generation of l'École de Rouen. Robert Antoine Pinchon's first
solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an exhibition of the work of only one artist. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photography. The creator of any artistic technique may be the subject of a solo show. Other s ...
in Paris took place on 15–25 March 1909 at the Galerie des Artistes Modernes run by Chaine and Simonson, with thirty works listed in the catalogue. The show resulted in both sales and press coverage. This was followed by another show at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen on 30 June. A few months later, on 13 November, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen opened a show with fifty-two paintings: three by Monet, nine by Sisley, three by Guillaumin, one by Renoir, thirteen by Lebourg, five by Delattre, two by Freshon and four by Robert Antoine Pinchon. In 1909 Pinchon, Dumont, Hodé and Tirvert founded the "
Société Normande de Peinture Moderne The Société Normande de Peinture Moderne, also known as ''Société de Peinture Moderne'', or alternatively, ''Normand Society of Modern Painting'', was a collective of eminent painters, sculptors, poets, musicians and critics associated with P ...
," which attracted the participation of
Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he playe ...
, Matisse, Dufy, Vlaminck, Derain, Marquet, Friesz, Picabia, and La Fresnaye. The same year, when he was still only 23 years old, four paintings by Pinchon entered the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. 1910 was a prolific year for Pinchon. A succession of shows followed: Galerie Legrip in Rouen (May), Galerie de Mme Le Bas, in Le Havre (July), and the 3rd exposition of the Société Normande de la Peinture Moderne (15 June–15 July): Here Pinchon showed twelve works alongside Dufy, Lhote, Léger, Gleizes, Gris, Picabia and
Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...
. Pinchon's next show on record was at the 8th Salon des artistes rouennais, 1913, followed by the 4th exposition of the Société Normande de la Peinture, the same year. Amongst the members of the selection committee were Jacques Villon, Duchamp-Villon and Francis Picabia. The organizational committee included Marcel Duchamp and Robert Antoine Pinchon. Pinchon would participate in two more exhibitions during the first half of 1914. A catalogue was printed for one of these shows, entitled ''L'École de Rouen, ses peintres et ses ferronniers''. In parallel was the 5th and last exhibition of the Société Normande de la Peinture Moderne, which included works by Utrillo, Friesz, Guillaumin, Luce, Vlaminck and Pinchon.


World War I

The declaration of war in 1914 signaled a major break in European cultural history, and a major break in the life and career of Robert Antoine Pinchon, who was mobilised on 5 August 1914 at Bernay. Pinchon was wounded in his right leg by a German mortar discharge during the
First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...
and was repatriated to a hospital in Saint-Céré. Once recovered, he was sent back to the front lines, but during fierce fighting in the village of Tahure on October 6, Pinchon was wounded, this time by shrapnel to the right arm. Early in 1916, Pinchon was sent back to the front for the second time. After several unsuccessful offensive assaults, the Germans were able to gain control of the French coast near Damloup. Robert Antoine Pinchon became a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
and was evacuated to Gerichshain, Germany (east of Leipzig). His father arranged for a painting of his to be shown at the 9th Salon des artistes rouennais (April–May 1917). Pinchon remained a prisoner in Germany from autumn 1916 until autumn 1918, but was able to create several pastels while in captivity. Meanwhile, works by Pinchon were shown again at the Galerie Legrip in Rouen. During this difficult period, one of Pinchon's paintings (''Le coteau d'Amfreville, près Rouen'') was exhibited at the Musée du Jeu de Paume in Paris, in a 1917 show dedicated to artists who had lost their lives in the war, prisoners of war, and those still in combat: ''Exposition des peintres aux Armées''. On a date that remains unknown, Pinchon was able to escape captivity. After passing through Switzerland, Italy, and a large section of France, he was able to reach his hometown of Rouen on 20 December 1918. At the same time, an exhibit was underway at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen. Pinchon was represented with four paintings, along with
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 ...
,
Boudin Boudin () are various kinds of sausage in French, Luxembourgish, Belgian, Swiss, Québécois, Acadian, Aostan, Louisiana Creole, and Cajun cuisine. Etymology The Anglo-Norman word meant 'sausage', 'blood sausage' or 'entrails' in general. ...
, Camoin,
Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
, Guillaumin, Lebourg, Luce, Matisse, Monet, Signac and Vuillard. Pinchon was listed as a prisoner of war in the catalogue. Like many of those who survived the Great War, Pinchon was shocked, disillusioned and embittered by his experiences. He expressed the view that his four years of military service and captivity had "shattered" his career. For four years in a row, he had been accepted at the Salon d'Automne but been unable to fulfill his entries. Pinchon faced difficult challenges, but returned to painting what he loved most: the great outdoors.


1918–1923

Again reunited with his family and friends at 49 rue des Armand Carrel in Rouen, on 8 May 1919 Pinchon presented several works, including three that he had created as a prisoner of war, at the 10th Salon des artistes rouennais. These same works were shown again in Paris that October (at 40 rue Marbeuf). In November Pinchon was again showing at the Salon d'Automne in Paris. Several shows in Rouen would follow. On 24 January 1921 Robert Antoine Pinchon and Elise Louise Joséphine Bance were married, and in April Pinchon was showing both at the Galerie Legrip and at the Musée de Rouen (39th exposition of Beaux-Arts de Rouen) together with Bonnard,
Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...
, Lebourg, Marquet and Vuillard. In May of the same year Pinchon showed at the 11th Salon des artistes rouennais. In December 1922, his first son, Claude Pinchon, was born. From 1923 onwards, to avoid confusion with another artist by the name of Robert Henri Pinchon, the artist signed his paintings ''Robert A. Pinchon''.


1924–1938

In 1925 Pinchon became vice president of the 16th Salon de la Société des Artistes Rouennais et de Normandie. In 1926 Pinchon again had a solo exhibition in Paris, this time at the Galerie A.M. Reitlinger, 12 rue La Boétie, with 45 paintings on display from 16 February to 4 March. One of the paintings on display was purchased by the State: ''Barque échouée, Saint-Valery-en-Caux''. Meanwhile, back in Rouen, another exhibit at Galerie Legrip was about to showcase his works. A short time after the Galerie Reitlinger show, a book was published by Julia Pillore, alias Léon de Saint-Valéry, an art critic, Marcel Duchamp's godmother, Lucie Duchamp's stepsister, and wife of the painter Paulin Bertrand. Julia Pillore was one of the first women in France to earn a university degree in philosophy. The 1926 book is entitled ''Tendances d'art; les formes peintes, les impressionnistes, les classiques, les tourmentés et les aberrés volontaires.''Léon de Saint-Valéry, ''Tendances d'art; les formes peintes; les impressionnistes, les classiques, les tourmentés et les aberrés volontaires'', Paris: Perrin, 1926, Just before examining the technique of Paul Signac, Léon de Saint-Valéry elucidates some interesting aspects of Pinchon's oeuvre:
M. Pinchon, who by certain aspects of his method seems to proceed from Monet and Guillaumin, has nonetheless a very personal conception of formal pictorial design that his approach rigorously defines. Imaginative and sensitive, he admits only the visual realities that stimulate sensation. He does not attach significant importance to forms determined by contour lines; these are, in his eyes, the motif upon which the harmonies of color and light are arranged.
M. Pinchon is foremost a painter impassioned by light. It is the intervention of light that modifies the architecture of the countryside and determines the colors. None of the colors 'theoretically' observed in nature are present in his paintings; rather, all of the tonalities result from the influence of reflected light. The predominance of this intangible element in his scenes communicates an intense impression of life. In his landscapes of Rouen and its environs, streets, squares, rivers, fields, riverbanks, or cliffs, nothing is immobile or absolute. Movement is everywhere present, expressed or suggested: the multitude of changing reflected tones diversify the water, clouds populate the sky unpredictably; the fugitive temporal coloration, together, observed from a unique vantage-point give the impression of ten entirely different landscapes that animate the vibrant roseate of dusk, the delicate violates of twilight, the emerald green of the passing breeze, the soft grays of morning, the nacre iridescence of winter. (Léon de Saint-Valéry, 1926)
In Paris, from 26 January to 16 February 1929, the Galerie Reitlinger displayed 31 paintings and four drawings by R. A. Pinchon. And in May, Pinchon participated in the Salon des Artistes Français (the 142nd ''Exposition Officielle des Beaux-Arts'' at the Grand Palais Des Champs-Élysées). Simultaneously, his works were included in the 20th Salon des artistes rouennais. Four months later the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
would hit virtually every country, with devastating effects climaxing in Paris around 1931. Yet despite the bleak economic landscape, Pinchon became a member of the
Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...
(S.A.F.).
Paul Chabas Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
was president at the time and M. Reitlinger was in charge of distributing the awards for the works shown at the Salon, which opened on 18 February. Pinchon exhibited 30 paintings in the show at the Grand Palais. In 1931 the ''Union des chambres de commerce maritimes et des ports français'' commissioned Pinchon to create a painting representing the Port of Rouen. This work, a triptych, was exhibited at the Paris Colonial Exposition, which was visited by over 33 million people from around the world. In addition to the commissioned work, Pinchon took the opportunity to collaborate with the poet Francis Yard in a publication dedicated to "''La rivière, qui fait de ce quartier de Rouen comme une ignoble petite Venise''", as Gustave Flaubert referred to it in ''
Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...
''. On 1 July 1932, Pinchon was admitted to the Académie des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Rouen. He donated a painting entitled ''"Quai à Croisset"'' to the academy for the occasion. In May 1935 a book by Lucie Delarue-Mardrus was published with 25 illustrations by Pinchon. Concurrently, at the Salon des artistes rouennais, Pinchon exhibited the large triptych he had painted for the Chamber of Commerce. Other artists represented at this show included
Hubert Robert Hubert Robert (22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy and of France.Jean de Cayeux. ...
, Vernet,
Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
,
Huet Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (also known as Helicopter Underwater Egress Training ); often abbreviated as HUET, pronounced ''hue-wet'', ''hue-way'' or ''you-way'') is training provided to helicopter flight crews, offshore oil and gas ind ...
, Lepère, Monet, Lebourg and
Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...
. Pinchon was now President of the Salon des artistes rouennais. In 1936, 1937 and 1938, Pinchon exhibited multiple times: at the 27th Salon des artistes rouennais (Rouen), Galerie Reitlinger (Paris), Galerie des Artistes Modernes (Paris), Maison the la Culture (Rouen), and three shows at Galerie Legrip (Rouen). He also illustrated both volumes of a book entitled ''Cathédrales et Eglises Normandes'', published in 1936 and 1937 by the architect Pierre Chirol.


1939–1943

With another World War looming, 1939 was the beginning of a difficult period, not just for Pinchon and other artists, but for the vast majority of the world's nations. Pinchon was deeply saddened by the human folly that would lead to such a turn of events. Neither he nor anyone else could have imagined the human loss and destruction that would be unleashed on Rouen. Yet despite the carnage that followed, hope and optimism had not entirely vanished. The 30th Salon des artistes rouennais went ahead as scheduled, with its opening on 19 May 1940; however, due to the gravity of the situation, it was closed two days later. The first bombardment of the city began on 5 June, followed by a mass exodus. On 8 June at 10:00 p.m. the first German tanks rolled in on ''la route de Neufchatel'', very close to the Pinchon residence. Pinchon exhibited for the last time between 16 May and 15 June, at l'Hôtel de la Couronne, place du Vieux-Marché, Rouen. After this show, which despite difficult times was successful both in press coverage and sales, Pinchon participated in another publication: ''Rouen et l'Exode.'' This was a collaboration of twenty Normandy artists in aid of imprisoned artists.Rouen et l'Exode, Rouen: Lecerf, 1941
Livre-Rare-Book.com
Robert-Antoine Pinchon died on 3 January 1943 in
Bois-Guillaume Bois-Guillaume () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography The town is a wealthy, residential hilltop suburb of Rouen, semi-rural, semi-suburban with a little farming and some light indus ...
, France, at the age of 56.


Honors

Four streets in the
Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
region of Normandy are named in commemoration of Robert Antoine Pinchon: in Barentin, Bois-Guillaume, Le Mesnil-Esnard and Pavilly. A square in Rouen (district of Saint-Clément – Jardin-des-Plantes) also bears his name.


Paintings

File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1904, Triel sur Seine, le pont du chemin de fer, 46 x 55 cm.jpg, 1904, ''Triel sur Seine, le pont du chemin de fer'', File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1905, La Seine à Rouen au crépuscule, oil on paperboard, 65 x 54 cm.jpg, 1905, ''La Seine à Rouen au crépuscule'', oil on paperboard, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1905, Le Pont aux Anglais, Rouen, oil on canvas, 32 x 47 cm, private collection.jpg, 1905, ''Le Pont aux Anglais, Rouen'', oil on canvas, , private collection File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Rouen, Le Pont aux Anglais.jpg, ''Rouen, Le Pont aux Anglais''. This work is closely related to ''Le Pont aux Anglais, soleil couchant'' (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen) File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, c.1920, Le jardin aux iris, oil on canvas, 80.9 x 116.2 cm.jpg, c.1920, ''Le jardin aux iris'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, c. 1906, Flowers in a vase, oil on board, 43 x 56 cm.jpg, c. 1906, ''Fleurs dans un vase'', oil on board, , private collection File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Un après-midi à l'Ile aux Cerises, Rouen, oil on canvas, 50 x 61.2 cm.jpg, ''Un après-midi à l'Ile aux Cerises, Rouen'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, c.1906, Le jardin aux pavots, oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm.jpg, c.1906, ''Le jardin aux pavots'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1904, Le Pré-aux-Loups, soleil couchant, oil on canvas, 50 x 73 cm, private collection.jpg, 1904, ''Le Pré-aux-Loups, soleil couchant'', oil on canvas, , private collection File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Le port de Fécamp, oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm.jpg, ''Le port de Fécamp'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Bateaux au port, oil on carton, 46 x 55 cm.jpg, ''Bateaux au port'', oil on carton, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Vue du Tréport, oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm.jpg, ''Vue du Tréport'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, c. 1905, Hameau des environs de Rouen, oil on canvas, monogram lower left, 22 x 33 cm.jpg, c. 1905, ''Hameau des environs de Rouen'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1921, Le Jardin maraicher, oil on canvas, 74 x 100 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen..jpg, 1921, ''Le Jardin maraicher'', oil on canvas, , Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1912, Le Talus de chemin de fer, oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm.jpg, 1912, ''Le Talus de chemin de fer'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Les chardons en bord de Seine (Chardons en fleurs), oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm.jpg, ''Les chardons en bord de Seine (Chardons en fleurs)'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Promenade sur le chemin de Halage, oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm.jpeg, ''Promenade sur le chemin de Halage'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1909-10, Les coteaux de Belbeuf (Barques), oil on canvas, 65.5 x 81 cm.jpg, 1909-10, ''Les coteaux de Belbeuf (Barques)'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Rouen, La Seine, Vue depuis les Hauteurs de Caudebec, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.4 cm (29 x 36.4 in).jpg, ''Rouen, La Seine, Vue depuis le Hauteurs de Caudbec'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Rouen, vue de la Seine, oil on canvas, 48.9 x 94 cm.jpg, ''Rouen, vue de la Seine'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1905, Paysage d'hiver (Le chemin, neige), oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm, private collection.jpg, 1905, ''Paysage d'hiver (Le chemin, neige)'', oil on canvas, , private collection File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Environs de Rouen sous la neige, oil on canvas, 50 x 73 cm.jpg, ''Environs de Rouen sous la neige'', oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1916, La tonnelle sous la neige, oil on carton, 37.5 x 46.5 cm.jpg, 1916, ''La tonnelle sous la neige'' (''The Pergola Under Snow''), oil on canvas, File:Robert Antoine Pinchon, Village enneigé, oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm.jpg, ''Village enneigé'', oil on canvas,


Works in selected museums

* ''Le Pont aux anglais, soleil couchant'', (1905) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Prairies inondées (Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, près de Rouen)'', (1905–06) Musée de Louviers,
Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507. * ''Le coteau d'Amfreville, près Rouen (La carrière à mi-voie)'' (1908) Musée de Draguignan * ''Effet de neige'', (1909) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Péniches dans la brume'', (1909) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Vue prise du mont Gargan, soleil couchant'', (before 1909) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Le Jardin maraicher'', (ca 1921) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Barque échouée, Saint Valéry en Caux'' (before 1927) Office national des Combustibles liquides, Paris * ''Bord de Seine à Caumont'' (ca 1928–30) Musée Alfred Canel * ''Le Port et le Pont transbordeur de Rouen'', (1943) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen * ''Le Pourquoi-Pas du commandant Charcot dans le port de Rouen'' (1935) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen


Works in selected public and private collections

* ''La Lande à Petit-Couronne'' (1903) * ''Les toits rouges'' (1903
Christie's New York, 2012
* ''La Seine à Croisset'' (1903) * ''Triel-sur-Seine, en aval de Paris, le pont ferroviaire sur la Seine Vers'' (1904) * ''La Seine à Rouen au crépuscule'' (1905) * ''Le Pont Transbordeur à Rouen'' (1905), Salon d'Automne 1905, no. 1253 * ''Le Pont Boieldieu, à Rouen'' (1905), Salon d'Automne 1905, no. 1254 * ''Vieilles Cabanes dans l'Île Lacroix, a Rouen'' (1905), Salon d'Automne 1905, no. 1255 * ''Le Chemin, neige'' (1905) * ''Coin de Seine à La Bouille'' or ''Restaurant champêtre de la Bouille'' (1906) * ''La Seine vue de Belbeuf'' (1907
Tajan, Paris, 2007
* ''Le 14 Juillet, Place de la Basse Vieille Tour à Rouen'' (1908) * ''Le Petit Train, côte Sainte-Catherine'' (1908-1909) * ''Le Pont de chemin de fer près de Rouen'' (1910-1915
Christie's New York, 2008
* ''Le vallon du temps perdu'' (1910) * ''Le Bassin aux nymphéas'' (ca 1910) * ''Le Toquesac Aout'' (1912) * ''Le talus de chemin de fer'' (1912) * ''Fleurs des champs'' (ca 1915
Christie's New York, 2008
* ''Pots de géraniums'' (ca 1915–1920) * ''Le jardin aux iris'' (ca 1920
Christie's New York, 2008
* ''Les chardons en fleurs'' (1920–25) * ''A l'île aux cerises''
Christie's New York, 2008
* ''Rouen, vue de la Seine''
Christie's New York, 2007
* ''Dieppe et son port'' * ''Chalands à Dieppedalle''


Bibliography


Almanach pour 1908, Edition du Groupe des XXX (trente), PARIS, ROUEN, décembre 1907


* Exposition Robert A. Pinchon, éditeur Galerie A. M. Reitlinger, 1926, Paris
Paulme, Henri, 1933, La Brillante carrière d'un peintre de l'Ecole moderne de Rouen : Réponse au discours de réception de Robert-A. Pinchon, Rouen, Impr. A. Lainé

Maupassant, 1933, Les Contes normands, Illustrations de Robert-A. Pinchon; Introduction de Henri Defontaine

Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, 1935, Rouen, éd. Henri Defontaine, Rouen, Illustrations de Robert Antoine Pinchon

Chirol, Pierre, 1936, Cathédrales et Eglises Normandes: H. Defontaine, Illustrations de Robert Pinchon, Éditions et Impressions Paul Duval, Elbeuf-Paris

Jean de la Varende, 1937, Les Châteaux de Normandie (Basse-Normandie) illustrated by Robert-A. Pinchon

Rouen et l'Exode, 1941, R. A. Pinchon ''et al,'' Preface by Fernand Guey

Defontaine, H., 1941, Rouen à travers les âges, 1941; Pierre Chirol et René Herval; illustrations de Robert A. Pinchon, Pierre Le Trividic et Michel Fréchon; Impr. Commerciale du Journal de Rouen, 20 mars 1941
* Robert A. Pinchon, ''Rétrospective, 1886-1943'', Galerie Hervé, Paris, Du 23 mars au 30 avril 1971, Paris * François Lespinasse, ''L'École de Rouen'', Fernandez, Sotteville-lès-Rouen, 1980 * Caroline Laroche, ''7 peintres de l'école de Rouen : Marcel Couchaux, Alfred Dunet, Charles Fréchon, Narcisse Guilbert, Pierre Le Trividic, Maurice Louvrier, Robert Pinchon'', Alain Letailleur, Paris, 1990 * François Lespinasse, ''Robert Antoine Pinchon, 1886-1943'', Rouen, 1990 * Alain Letailleur, ''Robert Antoine Pinchon'', Connivences, Paris, 1990 * Robert Antoine Pinchon: 1886–1943, Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov, 1990
Les Contes, de Guy de Maupassant; ill. de Robert-A. Pinchon; introd. de Henri Defontaine, Luneray, Bertout, 1993, 76-Luneray, impr. Bertout
* François Lespinasse, ''L'École de Rouen'', Lecerf, Rouen, 1995 * ''L'École de Rouen de l'impressionnisme à Marcel Duchamp, 1878-1914'', Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, 1996
Robert Antoine Pinchon, Texte imprimé: 1886-1943: exposition, Musée municipal de Louviers, 14 mars-11 mai 1998; texte de François Lespinasse, Musée de Louviers, 1997, Impr. Fromentin

Guy Pessiot, 2004, Histoire de Rouen: 1900-1939 en 800 photographie
* François Lespinasse, ''Journal de l'École de Rouen 1877-1945'', 2006 * François Lespinasse, ''Robert Antoine Pinchon'', Ass. Les amis de l'École de Rouen, 2007


References


External links


Pinchon Robert Antoine, Joconde, Musées de France

Une ville pour l'impressionnisme, Monet, Pissarro et Gauguin à Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, 4 juin – 26 septembre 2010

Robert Antoine Pinchon, paintings

Maupassant letters addressed to Robert Pinchon

Complete list of Maupassant correspondence in chronological order, 1862-1891, with 14 addressed to Robert Pinchon

Maupassant letters addressed to La Toque (Robert Pinchon)

Robert Antoine Pinchon, Base Arcade, Culture.gouv.fr

Éblouissants reflets (Dazzling Reflections), 100 chefs-d'oeuvre impressionnistes, 29 avril – 30 septembre 2013, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Esplanade Marcel Duchamp, Rouen

Lost in plain sight, an artist from Rouen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinchon, Robert Antoine 1886 births 1943 deaths Artists from Rouen French landscape painters Modern painters Impressionist artists Divisionist painters Post-impressionist painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters