Augustin Chenu — Wikipedia

Augustin Pierre Bienvenu Chenu ,, that Fleury CHENU , is a French painter born on May 12, 1833 in Briançon and died the May 6, 1875 In Lyon ^{[ first ]} . It is known for its snow -capped landscapes and its place in the history of Lyon art of XIX ^{It is} century.

Childhood [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Chenu was born in Briançon to a master tailor at the 6 ^{It is} line regiment ^{[ 2 ]} . His family is not of a very artistic environment. He spent the first years of his childhood in this city, which will inspire him for his many paintings of country landscapes and deserts. His family moved to Lyon in 1846, he then entered the School of Fine Arts in Lyon where he received the lessons of drawing and painting from Professor Louis Guy, but also from Michel-Philibert Genod (1796-1862) and Claude Goodfond.

Difficult beginnings and ascent [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

His beginnings in painting are difficult, he then painted the ceiling of the Casino de Lyon to fill his financial difficulties. During this same period, he puts his talent into practice and acquired an increasingly great mastery. He then paints several canvases representing hunting scenes but always without any violence or bright colors. He draws public attention and connoisseurs by his young talent, especially with one of his paintings The departure of the steam boat , but its reputation remains limited and Lyonnaise. He participated as a lover in local fairs from 1854.

He finally obtained a national notoriety thanks to the Paris exhibition of 1867 where his painting The course of the Chartreux in Lyon and also The yellow fiacre a lot of public interest. He obtained a medal in 1868. His fame materialized by a series of paintings ( The Marshal Ferrant , Wedding visit , The stirrup , The Quai de la Charité in Lyon ), and two of them are acquired by a minister and exhibited at the Luxembourg Museum ( The accommodation ticket And Trainards ). Thus he obtained recognition from art lovers which allows him to increase the price of his works and to get rid of the financial constraints of his beginnings in Lyon. He died some time later at the age of 40 of a heart disease when his works finally enjoyed great success in Paris and Lyon. He is buried in the Loyasse cemetery in Lyon.

Augustin Chenu is mainly known for his paintings representing scenes of hunting as well as paintings centered on nature without human presence, such as the famous “snow effects” (variations of campaign paintings, wild paths, forests in snow times), which earned him the name of “snow painter” ^{[ 3 ]} . The severe Briançon winters of her childhood marked him and this period is found in his almost meteorological work. Warm white cream, broken white, gentle white white, nostalgic gray white, its multiple shades of white give all the style to its paintings. He also made panels (paintings on wooden support preceding the real canvases) on the staircase of the Hotel de l’Europe, a mansion in the second arrondissement of Lyon and at the Palais du Commerce, or Palais de la Bourse, from Lyon. A large part of its paintings represent Lyon places and the surroundings of the region. He was strongly influenced by the works of Michel-Philibert Genod but it was in his landscape paintings that he reveals his singularity by studying the effects of time and light at the different hours of the day and in the various eras of the year . These series are reminiscent of the Rouen cathedral series by Claude Monet painted at the various hours of the day.

• The snow. On the dock , Lounge from 1867.
• The stirrup, snow effect , Living room of 1868.
• The walk in the evening , Living room of 1868.
• The guard , Living room of 1869.
• Starters, snow effect , 1870 living room, oil on canvas, 170 × 152 cm , Museum the Orsay, Paris ^{[ 4 ]}
• Wedding visit , Lounge from 1872.
• The Saône , Living room of 1873.

• Émile Bellier de la Chavignerie, Louis Auvray, General dictionary of the artists of the French school from the origin of the drawing arts to the present day: architects, painters, sculptors, engravers and lithographers , t. first , p. 249 , RENOUARD bookstore, Paris, 1882 French
• Émile Bellier de la Chavignerie, Louis Auvray, General dictionary of the artists of the French school, from the origin of the drawing arts until 1882 inclusive: painters, sculptors, architects, engravers and lithographers , Extra charge, p. 141 , RENOUARD bookstore, Paris, 1888 French