René François Xavier Prinet (31 December 1861,

Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Str ...

– 26 January 1946,

Bourbonne-les-Bains Bourbonne-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France in the region Grand Est.

) was a French painter and illustrator who drew his subjects from middle-class society.

Biography

He was born to Henri Prinet, an Imperial Prosecutor in Vitry-le-François. A promotion led to him being posted in Paris, where they lived in a home not far from the

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French '' grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scien ...

. His father painted as a hobby and was supportive of his desire to study art, having him seek the advice of , a well-known church painter and friend of the family. Around 1880, he began his studies in earnest, in the studios of

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...

; remaining with him until 1885. That year, his painting "The Infant Jesus" was accepted for display at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

. This was followed by studies at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the numbe ...

. At this time, he also became associated with a group of young artists known as the Bande Noire (Black Stripe), which included

Lucien Simon Lucien Joseph Simon (1861 – 1945) was a French painter and teacher born in Paris. Early life and education Simon was born in Paris. After graduating from the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, he studied painting at the studio of Jules Didier, then from ...

André Dauchez André Eugène Dauchez (17 May 1870 – 15 May 1948), born in Paris, was a French painter, watercolourist, pastellist, engraver, draughtsman and illustrator known for landscapes, waterscapes and seascapes. Biography Born in a family of l ...

Émile-René Ménard Émile-René Ménard (15 April 1862, in Paris – 13 January 1930, in Paris) was a French painter. From early childhood he was immersed in an artistic environment: Corot, Millet and the Barbizon painters frequented his family home, familiariz ...

and

Charles Cottet Charles Cottet (12 July 1863 – 20 September 1925) was a French painter, born at Le Puy-en-Velay and died in Paris. A famed post-impressionist, Cottet is known for his dark, evocative painting of rural Brittany and seascapes. He led a scho ...

. Later, he was named a Professor at the École Nationale, where he created and directed their first workshop for female artists. In 1891, he received a commission from the government to create decorations in the

Palais de la Légion d'Honneur The Palais de la Légion d'honneur (French for "Palace of the Legion of Honour") is a historic building on the Left Bank of the River Seine in Paris, France. It houses the Musée de la Légion d'honneur ("Museum of the Legion of Honour") and is ...

and he submitted a design for "The Four Seasons", which was approved. That same year, he began exhibiting at the

Durand-Ruel Paul Durand-Ruel (31 October 1831, Paris – 5 February 1922, Paris) was a French art dealer associated with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School. Being the first to support artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste ...

gallery. One of his best known works, ''

The Kreutzer Sonata ''The Kreutzer Sonata'' (russian: Крейцерова соната, ) is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889, and was promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an ...

'' (inspired by the

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (Britis ...

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

), was shown in Stuttgart and was purchased by

Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria ''Leopold Charles Joseph William Louis'' , image_size = , image = Luitpold Wittelsbach cropped.jpg , succession = Prince Regent of Bavaria , reign = 10 June 1886 – 12 December 1912 , reign-type = Tenure , regent = Ludw ...

. He was named a Knight in the Legion of Honor in 1900. He produced his first illustrations in 1909, for ' (The Well-Bred Young Girl) by

René Boylesve René Boylesve (14 April 1867 in La Haye-Descartes – 14 January 1926 in Paris), born René Marie Auguste Tardiveau, was a French writer and a literary critic. Biography Boylesve was orphaned early and went to school in Poitiers and Tours. In ...

. Over the course of his career, he would illustrate works by Balzac,

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica El ...

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Franç ...

and Henri Bataille; among many others. In 1913, he was appointed Secretary for the

Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA; ; en, National Society of Fine Arts) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions. 1862 Es ...

and travelled to the United States; serving on the jury for an exhibition at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

, where he also presented several works. He would exhibit there again in 1920. Six years later the "Société Belfortaine des Beaux-Arts" (an adjunct of the ) was established and became one of his favorite exhibition venues. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held dur ...

. In 1943, he was elected to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

to fill the chair made vacant by the death of

Jules-Alexis Muenier Jules-Alexis Muenier (; 29 November 1863 – 17 December 1942) was a French painter and photographer. Biography In 1880, Jules-Alexis Muenier entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme, n ...

in 1942. In addition to painting, he wrote two texts, ''Initiation à la peinture'', in 1935,René-Xavier Prinet, ''Initiation à la peinture'', Paris, Librairie E. Flammarion, 1935. and ''Initiation au dessin''.

Selected paintings

File:Prinet - Kreutzer Sonata.jpg, ''

'' File:Le Balcon by René François Xavier Prinet, 1905-1906.jpg, The Balcony File:Prinet-Bath.jpg, Lady in the Bath File:Prinet-Bouquet.jpg, The Bouquet

References

External links

More works by Prinet
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Prinet, Rene-Xavier 1861 births 1946 deaths 19th-century French painters French genre painters Recipients of the Legion of Honour Académie Julian French illustrators People from Vitry-le-François Olympic competitors in art competitions 20th-century French painters

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links