Édouard Auguste Nousveaux (4 September 1811,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

- 1867, Paris) was a French landscape painter and

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

. He is best known for the works he created after participating in an expedition to

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

; many of which were used in books and travel magazines.Xavier Ricou, ''Trésors de l'iconographie du Sénégal colonial'', Riveneuve, Marseille, 2007

Biography

He obtained his artistic education at the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in nor ...

. In 1831, barely aged twenty. he held his first showing at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

. In 1842, the artist

Stanislas Darondeau Stanislas-Henri-Benoit Darondeau (4 April 1807 – 12 July 1842) was a French painter, draftsman and engineer who was born in Paris in 1807. The musician Henry Darondeau was his father and Benoît Darondeau one of his brothers. He exhibited i ...

died of an illness contracted in Senegal, after returning from an exploratory expedition there with Governor

Édouard Bouët-Willaumez Louis Édouard Bouët-Willaumez (24 April 1808 – 9 September 1871) was a French admiral. Biography Louis Édouard Bouët was the son of a businessman (and mayor of Lambézellec), born in Maisons-Laffitte, near Paris. Having joined the French N ...

. Nousveaux, then aged thirty-one, was chosen to replace him; having already displayed an affinity for exotic themes. Upon his return in 1845, he exhibited nine watercolors at the Salon. They received mixed reviews."Salon de 1845 : Aquarelles, pastels, dessins", in ''La Revue indépendante'', vol. 18-19, 1845, p.507 He was named a Knight in the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1847. He would continue to make use of the sketches he executed in Senegal for several more years. In 1850, he turned to making

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, 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 ...

of Paris, which were poorly received and criticized for being inaccurate or anachronistic. After this, there are few traces of any significant artistic production, although he did some collaborative work with '' Le Magasin pittoresque'' and ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...

''. He continued to travel, and died after returning from a military expedition. In 1890, Colonel

Henri-Nicolas Frey Henri-Nicolas Frey was a French major general of the Troupes coloniales. He led the French troops at the Battle of Peking in August 1900 where a multinational force ended the siege of foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion. Biography Henr ...

used some of Nousveaux' watercolors to illustrate his book, ''Côte occidentale d'Afrique : vues, scènes, croquis''. Many publishers used his works without crediting them.Pierre Cariou, "Un peintre colonial méconnu : Édouard Nousveaux", in ''Notes africaines'', #36-56, 1948, p.46

References

External links

Biography
in the ''Dictionnaire Général des Artistes de l'École Française Depuis l'Origine des Arts du Dessin Jusqu'à Nos Jours, Vol. 2: Architectes, Peintres'', by Émile Bellier de la Chavignerie @ Google Books {{DEFAULTSORT:Nousveaux, Edouard Auguste 1811 births 1867 deaths 19th-century French painters French watercolourists French illustrators Painters from Paris French landscape painters