Alexandre Girardet (22 May 1767,

Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...

- 15 June 1836,

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

) was a Swiss engraver, illustrator 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 ...

Life and work

He was born to Samuel Girardet (1730–1807), a bookseller and publisher, and his wife Marie-Anne, née Bourquin. His siblings,

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Charles Samuel Charles Samuel (; 29 December 1862, in Brussels – 3 February 1938 or 1939, in Cannes) was a Belgian sculptor, engraver and medalist. Life Samuel was born in Brussels and trained there. He studied engraving with Léopold Wiener, sculpt ...

, Abraham Louis, and Julie (1769-1817), also became engravers. He was married to Catherine, née Guion The brothers all studied engraving together. In 1783, he moved to Paris, to join Abraham, and work under his direction. He signed his works, "A.-G. le jeune", to distinguish them from the two Abrahams. He also painted in oils and watercolors. Among his illustrations are those for the

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

, ''La Suisse Romande'' (the French-speaking parts of Switzerland). In 1792, he and Abraham returned to Switzerland. Two years later, Abraham went back to Paris, and Alexandre took over his position as a teacher. Due to mental illness, he had to give up teaching in 1801. He eventually was forced to give up painting and most of his other activities.

Sources

* "Girardet, Alexandre". In: Ulrich Thieme, Fred. C. Willis (Eds.) ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol.14: Giddens–Gress. E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1921, pg.164
Online
* René Burnand: ''L’étonnante histoire des Girardet. Artistes suisses.'' La Baconnière, Neuenburg 1940. * ''Les Girardet. Trois générations d’artistes neuchâtelois XVIIIe et XIXe siècles. Peinture, gravures, dessins. Exposition'', Exhibition catalog, 1948 * René Burnand: ''Les Girardet au Locle et dans le monde.'' La Baconnière, Neuenburg 1957. *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardet, Alexandre 1767 births 1836 deaths 18th-century Swiss engravers 19th-century Swiss engravers 18th-century Swiss illustrators 19th-century Swiss illustrators Swiss watercolourists People from Le Locle People from the Principality of Neuchâtel Swiss educators