The ''Batignolles group'' (Le groupe des Batignolles) was a group of young avant-garde

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 ai ...

s from the end of the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

who gathered around Édouard Manet. The group bears its name in reference to the Batignolles district, where the artists used to meet between 1869 and 1875. Many of the artists in the group later became known for the Impressionism movement.Rogers, Maria. (1970) 959 "The Batignolles group: Creators of impressionism." pp. 194-220 in M. C. Albrecht, J. H. Barnett, et al. (eds)
The Sociology of Art and Literature
'. New York: Praeger.

Background

Édouard Manet (1832–1883) lived on Boulevard des Batignolles, and maintained his workshop on Rue Guyot (now renamed Rue Médéric). He achieved some success at the Salon in 1861 with ''

The Spanish Singer ''The Spanish Singer'' is an 1860 oil painting on canvas by the French painter Édouard Manet, conserved since 1949 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. Composed in Manet's studio, it employed a model and props which were later used for ...

'' (1860), which received accolades from writer

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, 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 exoticis ...

(1821–1867) and journalist and literary critic Théophile Gautier (1811–1872). This enhanced reputation also brought younger artists into Manet's sphere out of admiration and respect, making him the leader of a new avant-garde movement centered around Batignolles. The studio of academic artist Charles Gleyre (1806–1874) attracts many from what will later become the Batignolles group.

Pierre-Auguste 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 "R ...

(1841–1919), Alfred Sisley (1839–1899), and

Frédéric Bazille Jean Frédéric Bazille (December 6, 1841 – November 28, 1870) was a French Impressionist painter. Many of Bazille's major works are examples of figure painting in which he placed the subject figure within a landscape painted ''en plein air''. ...

(1841–1870) begin studying at Gleyre in 1862, followed by Claude Monet in 1863. They all become friends, but Monet leaves the studio after finding it less conducive to his goals as an artist.

Cafe Guerbois

Around Manet, a group of friends formed to regularly meet in the neighborhood's cafes, in particular at the

Café Guerbois Café Guerbois, on Avenue de Clichy in Paris, was the site of late 19th-century discussions and planning amongst artists, writers and art lovers – the '' bohèmes'' (bohemians), in contrast to the ''bourgeois''. Centered on Édouard Ma ...

(which has now disappeared, but a plaque still marks its location at 11 Avenue de Clichy).Duret, Théodore (1912) 910
Manet and the French Impressionists
'. John Ernest Crawford Flitch (trans). 2nd Ed. London: Grants Richards Limited. The most frequent attendees at these meetings were Manet himself, Renoir, Sisley and Bazille. From time to time, they were joined by other painters, such as

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 Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

and

Edgar 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 es ...

, the patron and critic

Edmond Maître Edmond Maître (April 23, 1840 – May 29, 1898) was a French writer, musician, and art collector, best known for his support and association with the Impressionists and his close friendship with Frédéric Bazille and Pierre-Auguste Renoir ...

, the writer Émile Zola and the photographer

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...

. Their conversations and discussions contained fruitful exchanges of ideas and theories as to how to overcome the conservative Académie des Beaux-Arts that controlled the annual exhibition at the Salon de Paris.

Franco-Prussian War

After Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in 1870, many members of the group enlisted as soldiers. Cézanne avoided the draft by escaping to L'Estaque, a village in southern France, just west of Marseille. While there, Cézanne began to practice the new techniques he had leaned from the Batignolles group, using small brushstrokes and a brighter palette. Meanwhile, Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro all left France separately for London, England. According to Pissarro, he met up with Monet by accident in London, and they began to work together and study London landscapes: "Monet worked in the parks, while I studied the effects of fog, snow, and springtime." It was also in London where Monet and Pissarro first met and developed a relationship with French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who would later become instrumental to the success of the Impressionists, beginning with large purchases of their work in 1872. Degas fought in the National Guard and had little time to paint. Bazille died on the battlefield at Beaune-la-Rolande in November at the age of twenty-eight.

Society of Artists, Painters, Sculptors and Etchers

This association became official on December 27, 1873, with a charter signed by Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, and

Pierre Prins Pierre Prins (26 November 1838 – 21 January 1913) was a French painter, engraver and sculptor. Biography Pierre Prins was born on 26 November 1838, at the 7th arrondissement of Paris. He is the eldest son of his family. His family is a ma ...

. Monet published on January 27, 1874, in issue 3 ''La Chronique des Arts'' the announcement of the foundation of the "Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs", and planned to exhibit their art independently.

First exhibition

The first exhibition of the group was held from April 15-May 15, 1874, at Nadar's former workshop at No. 35,

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 L ...

.Brodskaya, Nathalia (2011). ''Claude Monet''. Parkstone International. ISBN 1780422970. One featured painting by Monet, '' Impression, Sunrise'', later led to the name of Impressionists. Another of Monet's paintings, entitled ''

'', dates from this time. The show did not go well, and many people came to laugh and deride the artists and their work.

Second exhibition

A second exhibition held in 1875 was met with violence by the crowd and the police had to be called. The paintings that did sell were sold for low prices, and many of the artists were reduced to begging for loans to survive.Hemmings, F. (1958). Zola, Manet, and the Impressionists (1875-80). PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 73(4-Part1), 407-417.

Legacy

Among the artists of the Batignolles, many later became known as great masters of the Impressionist movement. The group was immortalized in an 1870 painting by Henri Fantin-Latour, now in the

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 art ...

.Kisiel, M., In Perrin, P. (2018).
Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay
'. National Gallery Singapore, Art Gallery of South Australia.

Members

;Core of nine * Claude Monet, nucleus *

, nucleus * Alfred Sisley, nucleus *

, nucleus *

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

Berthe Morisot Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (; January 14, 1841 – March 2, 1895) was a French painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. In 1864, Morisot exhibited for the first time in the highly es ...

, only woman in the core group * Édouard Manet, intellectual leader *

; Minor roles * Félix Bracquemond *

Armand Guillaumin Armand Guillaumin (; February 16, 1841 – June 26, 1927) was a French impressionist painter and lithographer. Biography Early years Born Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin in Paris, he worked at his uncle's lingerie shop while attending eveni ...

* Antoine Guillemet * Henri Fantin-Latour * Gustave Caillebotte, patron *

* Émile Zola, promoted and defended the group *

* Mary Cassatt * Paul Gauguin *

, hosted the first exhibition of Impressionists in his studio