Félix Henri Bracquemond (22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French

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 ...

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, and

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bor ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Printmaking, prints ...

and

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). ...

to use this technique. Unusually for a prominent artist of this period, he also designed pottery for a number of French factories, in an innovative style that marks the beginning of

Japonisme ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japon ...

in France. He was the husband of the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

painter

Marie Bracquemond Marie Bracquemond (1 December 1840 – 17 January 1916) was a French Impressionist artist. She was one of four notable women in the Impressionist movement, along with Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), and Eva Gonzales (1847- ...

Biography

Early life

Félix Bracquemond was born in Paris. He was trained in early youth as a trade

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 a ...

, until Joseph Guichard, a pupil of

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the a ...

, took him to his studio. His

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

of his grandmother, painted by him at the age of nineteen, attracted

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

's attention at the Salon.

Engraver

His work in painting is rather limited. It includes mostly portraits (including that of Dr. Horace Montegre, and of

Paul Meurice Paul Meurice (5 February 1818 - 11 December 1905) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with Victor Hugo. Biography Meurice was born and died in Paris. In 1836, aged eighteen, he was introduced to Hugo by his fri ...

). Painting interested him less than engraving. He drew most of his technical knowledge from the

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

and

d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the '' Encyclopé ...

and he worked as a self-taught artist for a long time. In 1856, Edmond de Goncourt became close friends with Bracquemond, and they both shared a love of Japanese art, the engraver having been the first to discover an album by

Hokusai , known simply as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. He is best known for the woodblock print series '' Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'', which includes the iconic print ''The Great W ...

. He applied himself to

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

and etching about 1853, and played a leading and brilliant part in the revival of the etcher's art in France. Altogether he produced over eight hundred plates, comprising portraits, landscapes, scenes of contemporary life, and bird-studies, besides numerous interpretations of other artist's paintings, especially those of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier,

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.'' ...

and

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...

. He entered the literary milieu thanks to

Auguste Poulet-Malassis Paul Emmanuel Auguste Poulet-Malassis (16 March 1825 – 11 February 1878) was a French printer and publisher who lived and worked in Paris. He was a longstanding friend and the printer-publisher of Charles Baudelaire. Biography In his short six ...

, publisher of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fr ...

with whom Bracquemond became friends. He also befriended

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, A ...

Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

Gustave Geffroy Gustave Geffroy (1 June 1855 – 4 April 1926) was a French journalist, art critic, historian and novelist. He was one of the ten founding members of the literary organisation Académie Goncourt in 1900. Geffroy is noted as one of the first histo ...

Félix Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloonist, and proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first person ...

and all the elites residing in Nouvelle Athènes. He also was a friend of

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

. In June 1862, he joined the Société des aquafortistes founded by the publisher Alfred Cadart with the help of the printer Auguste Delâtre. On his advice,

Jean-Baptiste Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his va ...

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

and

began to practice engraving. He greatly helped Manet for his etchings of '' Olympia'' and ''L'Homme mort''. In 1888, Auguste Lepère created with Félix Bracquemond, Daniel Vierge and Tony Beltrand, the magazine ''L'Estampe originale'', in order to interest artists and amateurs in the new processes and trends of engraving, particularly in color, and Henri Rivière worked from this date on "The Thirty Six Views of the Eiffel Tower", from 1888 to 1902. In 1891, Valloton renewed the art of engraving on wood, with

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 ...

or Émile Bernard while Toulouse Lautrec revolutionized the art of the poster.

Friend of the Impressionists

In 1874 Bracquemond participated in the first exhibition of impressionist painters in the workshops of

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloonist, and proponent of heavier-than-air flight. In 1858, he became the first person ...

Boulevard des Capucines The Boulevard des Capucines is a boulevard in Paris. It is one of the 'Grands Boulevards' in Paris, a chain of boulevards built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, which were destroyed on the orders of ...

, of artists that would be called the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. The inauguration took place on 15 April 1874 and enjoyed a scandalous success. He presented a portrait, a frame of etchings including the portraits of

Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...

and

, but also etchings after

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

Manet A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...

, and original etchings: ''Les Saules'' (''The Willows''), ''Le Mur'' (''The Wall''). He exhibited again with his friends in 1879.

Ceramicist

In 1856, Bracquemond discovered a collection of

Manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

engravings by the Japanese

, typical of the pictorial genre known in Japan as ''Kachô-ga'', depicting flowers and birds with insects, crustaceans and fishes, in the workshop of his printer Auguste Delâtre, after having been used to fix a consignment of porcelain. He was seduced by this theme that made him the initiator of the vogue of

in France which seized the

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usua ...

during the second half of the 19th century. In 1860, he returned first to the workshop of the ceramist Théodore Deck, then to the earthenware merchant in Paris. The latter commissioned him the motifs for a table service, for a project destined for the Universal Exhibition of 1867 . Bracquemond then proposed a model which appropriated the themes of the ''Kachô-ga'', drawn and engraved by himself. For the first time a European artist directly copied a Japanese artist, reproducing the animal figures of the Hokusai Manga. In 1867, Bracquemond was also one of the nine members of the "Société du Jing-lar" with

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...

Carolus Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. Biograph ...

and the ceramist

Marc-Louis Solon Marc-Louis-Emmanuel Solon (1835 – 23 June 1913), pseudonym ''Miles'', was a renowned French porcelain artist. After beginning his career at the Sèvres Pottery, he moved to Stoke-on-Trent in 1870 to work at Mintons Ltd, where he became the le ...

, who met monthly in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for ...

for a Japanese dinner, to which this service would have been destined. Creil_bracquemond_service_rousseau

Eugène Rousseau was convinced and ordered two hundred pieces to be manufactured in Creil-Montereau faience. Bracquemond made the etchings and the engraved planks used by the manufacture. The proofs were cut and put on the clay to receive the decoration. In the oven, the heat made the paper disappear, leaving only the imprint of the drawing. Then it was painted over and the piece was placed in the large oven. Presented for the first time at the Universal Exhibition of 1867, this service was a great success. It was in the third group "furniture and other objects for the home", Class 17 "porcelain, earthenware, and luxury pottery" no. 58, installed on Louis XIII shelves in old oak with velvet stands. Above the counter, the name Rousseau is enameled with fire on a plaque. The jury awarded him a bronze medal (because Rousseau was merchant and not manufacturer). The gold medal was awarded to the manufacturers Lebeuf and Milliet. The service also boasted two novelties: the first was that everyone was free to compose his service according to his tastes and personal use. Rousseau suggested "the barnyard for meat, Crustaceans for fish and flowers for dessert." The second was that the service was adapted to wider circles: "for its sumptuousness to the bourgeoisie, and for its aspect serving as a hunt for the nobility." The service was then completed (tea cups, coffee, etc.) and the manufacture left to the Creil and Montereau factory. Barluet, Lebeuf's successor, re-edited it in the early 1880s. In 1885, Eugène Rousseau sold his business to Ernest-Baptiste Leveillé, who continued to publish the service under his own brand. Many reissues or variants followed. Among them, that of the Manufacture Jules Vieillard in Bordeaux (late 19th century), that of the Crystal Stairs (early 20th century), or even of the faience of Gien ''The large birds'' still in reissue. It can also be noted that many pieces of this service are now preserved in various French national museums (

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 ...

, Musée national Adrien Dubouché, etc.). Each element of the service, inspired by Japanese prints, was decorated with a different motif. The decoration treats and associates a multitude of birds, fishes, and crustaceans, always leaving room for plants and insects. The decor is often presented as a trilogy. The butterfly meets a cock at the turn of a branch, a dragonfly meets a carp at the bend of a water lily. Many artists of the time celebrated the poetry of this service and praised its exceptional decor. Mallarmé notably, noted a "visible decadence" since the Restoration in the French furniture, testifies to his appeal for this service. He lingered on ceramics for a special praise of Rousseau, whom he defended against his English imitators: "I had refused all allusions necessarily too briefly to this admirable and unique service, decorated by Bracquemond with Japanese motifs borrowed from the poultry yard and the fish ponds, the most beautiful crockery I have ever known. Each piece, the plates even, wants its special description. I am satisfied, one last time, to claim the priority of Parisian work, picturesque and spiritual on British plagiarism..." . Mallarmé quoted Deck, Collinot and Rousseau, who had "totally renewed French ceramics": "I should particularly mention, as a translation of the high Japanese charm made by a very French spirit, the table service asked, boldly, for the master Aquafortiste Bracquemond: where struts, enhanced with joyous colors, the ordinary hosts of the poultry yard and fish ponds." Mallarmé himself possessed pieces of the service, published during the period 1866-1875. Félix Bracquemond also worked for the

Manufacture nationale de Sèvres The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It ...

in 1870, giving his works a new orientation that preludes the

modern style The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It is the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement which was native ...

. He also accepted the position of artistic director of the Parisian studio of the firm Charles Haviland of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, 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 ...

Other Work and Later Life

A close friend of

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

, and

, he is represented in the latter's paintings, ''Hommage à Delacroix'', 1864, preserved in Paris at the

and ''Toast with the Truth'' of 1865, destroyed by the artist. He married Marie Quivoron, a painter known as

, on 5 August 1869, in Paris. Their son, Pierre, claimed that Felix was jealous and critical of Marie's work. His beratement caused Marie to cease painting. He is also the author of a book entitled ''Du dessin et la couleur'', published in 1886, very much appreciated by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, and a study on woodcutting and lithography. His best engravings are devoted either to landscapes or to animals: ''Reeds and teals'' (1882), ''Les Hirondelles'' (1882), ''Les Mouettes'' (1888). He was honored as an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1889. Gabriel P. Weisberg called him the "molder of artistic taste in his time". Indeed, it was he who recognised the beauty of the

woodcuts used as packing around a shipment of Japanese china, a discovery which helped change the look of late 19th-century art. He died in

. File:Félix bracquemond ed eugène rousseau per man. di creil et montereau, servito, parigi 1866-75, 02.JPG File:Félix bracquemond ed eugène rousseau per man. di creil et montereau, servito, parigi 1866-75, 01 carpa.JPG File:Félix bracquemond ed eugène rousseau per man. di creil et montereau, servito, parigi 1866-75, 04.JPG File:Félix bracquemond ed eugène rousseau per man. di creil et montereau, servito, parigi 1866-75, 06 zuppiera.JPG File:Manifattura di creil e montereau, félix bracquemond ed eugène rousseau, ciotola con gallo, 1865-75 ca..JPG File:Plate MET sf23.31.21.jpg, 1872–80 File:Plate MET ES4276.jpg Image:Alfred de Curzon.jpg, ''Alfred de Curzon'', 1850s Image:La Mer MET DP814171.jpg, ''La Mer'', 1850–1914 Image:Portrait of Fernand Lesseps MET DP814377.jpg, ''Portrait of Ferdinand Lesseps'', 1850–1914 Image:Frontispiece for Oeuvres Nouvelles de Champfleury, after Courbet MET DP814145.jpg, Frontispiece for ''Oeuvres Nouvelles de Champfleury'' (after

Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

), 1860–98 Image:Lantara by Bracquemond.jpg, '' Simon Lantara'' (after Vernet), for ''

L'Artiste ''L’Artiste'' was a weekly illustrated review published in Paris from 1831 to 1904, supplying "the richest single source of contemporary commentary on artists, exhibitions and trends from the Romantic era to the end of the nineteenth century." ...

,''
September 1864 Image:Frontispiece for an Album of the Société des Aquafortistes MET DP814029.jpg, Frontispiece for an Album of the '' Société des Aquafortistes'', 1865 Image:Frontispiece for "L'Illustration Nouvelle" MET DP814136.jpg, Frontispiece for ''L'Illustration Nouvelle'', 1867 Image:Félix Bracquemond - La statue de la Résistance par Falguière.jpg, ''La statue de la Résistance par Falguière'', 1870 Image:Félix Bracquemond, Nôtre Dame, Paris, 1870.jpg, ''Nôtre Dame, Paris'', 1870 Image:Edwin Edwards by Félix Bracquemond.jpg, ''Edwin Edwards'', 1872 Image:The Locomotive MET DP814342.jpg, ''The Locomotive'' (after

), 1873 Image:Blanqui.JPG, Death Mask of

Auguste Blanqui Louis Auguste Blanqui (; 8 February 1805 – 1 January 1881) was a French socialist and political activist, notable for his revolutionary theory of Blanquism. Biography Early life, political activity and first imprisonment (1805–1848) Bl ...

, 1881 Image:Bracquemond LesHirondelles.jpg, ''Les Hirondelles'',
ca. 1882 Image:Félix Bracquemond - Jules de Goncourt.jpg, ''Portrait of
Edmond de Goncourt'', 1882 Image:AugustePoulet-Malassis.jpg, ''Portrait of Auguste
Poulet-Malassis'', 1884 Image:The Monkey and the Cat, from the Fables of La Fontaine MET DP814164.jpg, ''The Monkey and the Cat, from the Fables of La Fontaine'', 1886 Image:Charles Keene by Félix Bracquemond.jpg, '' Charles Keene'', for ''

,''
May 1891 Image:The Gallic Cock -- Long Live the Czar! (Le Coq gaulois -- Vive le Tsar!) MET DP814173.jpg, ''The Gallic Cock--Long Live the Czar!'', 1893 Image:Woman's Head, from L'Estampe Moderne MET DP814160.jpg, ''Woman's Head, from

L'Estampe Moderne ''L'Estampe Moderne'' appeared in 1897-1899 as a series of 24 monthly fascicle (book), fascicles, each of 4 original lithographs, priced at 3 francs 50 centimes and printed by Imprimerie Champenois of Paris. Many accomplished European Art Nouveau ...

'', 1897–99 Image:Léon Cladel by Félix Bracquemond.jpg, ''Portrait of

Léon Cladel Léon Cladel (Montauban, 22 March 1834 – 21 July 1892, Sèvres) was a French novelist. The son of an artisan, he studied law at Toulouse and became a solicitor's clerk in Paris. Cladel made a limited reputation by his first book, ''Les Ma ...

'', 1905 Image:Legros par Bracquemond.jpg, ''Portrait of

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later took British citizenship. He was important as a teacher in the British etching re ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bracquemond, Felix 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French etchers Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 1833 births 1914 deaths 20th-century French printmakers 19th-century French male artists