Henri-Jean Guillaume "Henri" Martin (; 5 August 1860 – 12 November 1943) 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 ...

. Elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1917, he is known for his early 1920s work on the walls of the Salle de l'Assemblée générale, where the members of the Conseil d'État meet in the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...

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. Si ...

. Other notable institutions that have featured his

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 ...

paintings in their halls through public procurement include the

Élysée Palace The Élysée Palace (french: Palais de l'Élysée; ) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. Completed in 1722, it was built for nobleman and army officer Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, who had been appointed Gove ...

, Sorbonne, Hôtel de Ville de Paris, Palais de Justice de Paris, as well as Capitole de Toulouse, although the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux is the fine arts museum of the city of Bordeaux, France. The museum is housed in a dependency of the Palais Rohan in central Bordeaux. Its collections include paintings, sculptures and drawings from the 15t ...

and

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures repr ...

also have sizeable public collections.

Life and career

Early years

Born at 127 Grande-Rue Saint-Michel in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

to a French cabinet maker and a mother of Italian descent, Martin successfully persuaded his father to permit him to become an artist. He began his career in 1877 at the Toulouse School of the Fine Arts, where he was under the tutelage of Jules Garipuy; he was also a pupil of Henry-Eugène Delacroix. During his time at the School of Fine Arts, he met Marie-Charlotte Barbaroux, whom he married in 1881. In 1879, Martin relocated to Paris and with the help of a municipal scholarship, was able to study in Jean-Paul Laurens's studio. Four years later, he received his first medal at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial ar ...

, where he would hold his first exhibition three years later in 1886.

Visit to Italy and return to France

The year after he won his first medal, Martin was awarded a scholarship for a tour in Italy, where he studied the work of veterans such as

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance period. G ...

and

Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasar ...

alongside

Edmond Aman-Jean Edmond Aman-Jean (13 January 1858, Chevry-Cossigny – 25 January 1936, Paris) was a French symbolist painter, who co-founded the Salon des Tuileries in 1923. Life His father was the owner and operator of an industrial lime kiln. He had h ...

and

Ernest Laurent Ernest Joseph Laurent (June 8, 1859 – June 25, 1929) was a French painter and printmaker. He was born in Gentilly and died in Bièvres, Essonne. Laurent was a neo-impressionist artist whose main influences were his instructor Ernest Hé ...

. His 1889 canvas submission to the Salon earned him the gold medal for work that has been described as Pointillist. In 1896 he was made a knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

, before being promoted to the rank of officer in 1905 and commander in 1914. At the 1900 World Fair, he was awarded the Grand Prize for his work. During this period, he became friends with

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 ...

. Although Martin's work as a Neo-Impressionist is not considered groundbreaking, it was rather well-received; it has been associated with world-class symbolist painter

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Bea ...

. After joining the Société nouvelle de peintres et de sculpteurs in Paris in 1899, he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts (painting section) in 1917.

Late years

Due to his introverted temperament, Martin decided to move away from Paris. After a decade of searching for an ideal home, Martin bought the Domaine de Marquayrol, overlooking the village of Labastide-du-Vert, near

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

. He performed what is considered by some his best work in the new tranquil environment. He died there in 1943. In a 2020 portrait by ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', Raphaëlle Rérolle writes about Martin painting at Labastide-du-Vert: "The elders of this Lot village say that when he childrenleft class,

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title ...

were not allowed to stop near him. Better to go straight ahead, not forgetting to greet politely, otherwise the artist would complain to the schoolmistress". Two of his four sons became painters: Claude-René Martin and Jacques Martin-Ferrières. Henri Martin was also a teacher who had among his pupils American painter

Nellie Ellen Shepherd Nellie Ellen Shepherd (April 30, 1877 – July 18, 1920) was an American painter. She was one of the earliest professional women artists in Oklahoma. A native of Thayer, Kansas, Thayer, Kansas, Shepherd was one of eight children, six daughters and ...

. The Musée de Cahors Henri-Martin in Cahors, which was named after him, exposes some of his work.Musée de Cahors Henri-Martin
musees-occitanie.fr (in French)

Gallery

File:Henri Martin - Le Poète - Musée des Augustins - RO 164.jpg, ''Le Poète'' (''The Poet''), 1881,

File:Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne - Autoportrait en saint Jean-Baptiste 1883 - Henri Martin 46x33.5.jpg, ''Autoportrait en saint Jean-Baptiste'' (''Self-portrait in Saint John the Baptist''), 1883, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne File:Henri Martin-Paolo Malatesta.jpg, ''Paolo Malatesta et Francesca da Rimini aux enfers'' (''Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini in hell''), 1883, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne File:Henri Martin - La Fête de la Fédération au Champ de Mars le 14 juillet 1790 - Musée des Augustins - 2004 1 165.jpg, ''La Fête de la Fédération au Champ de Mars le 14 juillet 1790'' (''The Fête de la Fédération at Champ de Mars on 14 July 1790''), 1889,

File:Henri Martin - L'Homme entre le vice et la vertu - Musée des Augustins - 2004 1 159.jpg, ''L'Homme entre le Vice et la Vertu'' ('' Man Between Vice and Virtue''), 1892,

File:Augustins - Portrait de madame Sans, 1895 - Henri Martin Inv. 81 5 1 .jpg, ''Portrait de Madame Sans'' (''Portrait of Madam Sans''), 1895,

File:Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne - Portrait d'Albert Sarraut (1897 - 1898) - Henri Martin 71.3x57.3.jpg, ''Portrait d'Albert Sarraut'' (''Portrait of Albert Sarraut''), c. 1898, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Carcassonne File:Augustins - Beauté, 1900 - Henri Martin 63 6 1.jpg, ''Beauté'' (''Beauty''), 1900,

File:Lille PdBA martin jardin.JPG, ''Dans le jardin'' (''In the garden''), c. 1900, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille File:Capitole Toulouse - Salle Henri-Martin - L'été par Henri Martin.jpg, ''L'été ou les faucheurs'' (''Summer or mowers''), 1903, Capitole de Toulouse File:(Albi) Portrait de Jean Jaurès 1905 - Henri Martin - huile sur bois - acquis en 1939 MTL.inv.317.jpg, ''Portrait de Jean Jaurès'' (''Portrait of Jean Jaurès''), 1905,

Musée Toulouse-Lautrec The Musée Toulouse-Lautrec is an art museum in Albi, southern France, dedicated mainly to the work of the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who was born in Albi. The 13th century building was originally the Bishop's Palace of Albi Cathedral, n ...

File:Capitole Toulouse - Salle Henri-Martin - Les Bords de la Garonne, Les promeneurs ou Les reveurs par Henri Martin.jpg, ''Les bords de la Garonne, les promeneurs ou les rêveurs'' (''The banks of the Garonne, walkers or dreamers''), 1906, Capitole de Toulouse File:Henri Martin - Etude pour les bords de la Garonne - Musée des Augustins - 82 8 1.JPG, ''Étude pour les bords de la Garonne'' (''Study for the banks of the Garonne''), c. 1906,

File:121 Henri Martin Portrait de l'artiste.jpg, ''Portrait de l'artiste'' (''Self-portrait''), c. 1912,

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 ...

File:Henri Martin - Gustave Charpentier - P2564 - musée Carnavalet.jpg, ''Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956), compositeur'' (''Gustave Charpentier (1860–1956), composer'', c. 1932, Musée Carnavalet

References

External links

*
Henri Martin Biography
Findlay Galleries
Page
on the Académie des Beaux-Arts website {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Henri-Jean Guillaume 1860 births 1943 deaths Artists from Toulouse 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists Post-impressionist painters French landscape painters French Symbolist painters Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur 19th-century French male artists